


The Daughter's Rise

by Anna_Marie



Series: Daughter of Dionysus [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Death, Friendship, Kidnapped!OC, Mental Illness, So much death, Sorry Not Sorry, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2018-09-15 22:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 77,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9259661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna_Marie/pseuds/Anna_Marie





	1. Switched

A/N: Remember, I will not be able to write for a while.... You were warned....

Marie’s POV  
Maybe getting Diana to drive wasn't the greatest idea.  
Her driving isn't bad; in fact she is a much better driver than Ella (which is saying something). While Diana is driving she explains how she is beginning to remembers some simple information about herself. Apparently Diana had to listen to Highland music when driving in the past. She couldn't talk to her passengers before she was this good. I wouldn't want to be the person to teach her.  
The problem with Diana driving is that as soon as we drive into her neighborhood, sentries see her and sound the alarm. Diana doesn't notice the red eyes glaring from the windows, or the fact that her so-called neighbors are nowhere to be seen. I look back to see if anyone else has noticed, only to find that everyone else except Aelix is asleep. Diana's boyfriend has my boyfriend using him as a pillow. I never realized how similar they look; their hair, black and curly; pale complexion; their structure- Nathan is more chiseled. Their differences are more apparent. Where Nathan is totally relaxed and confident, Aelix is worrisome and doubtful. Aelix has a certain intensity about him that's unhealthy for a relationship. I would know, being an Aphrodite kid.  
I turn and lean towards him.  
"I'm not liking these red eyed neighbors," I comment. Aelix nods.  
"Red eyes means Ares's has control over them," Aelix points out.  
"Thank you Captain obvious," I deadpan.  
Diana, apparently able to hear us over her alternative rock music, looks back at us through the mirror.  
"Don't worry about it. It's completely normal," Diana says.  
After saying those words, the car lurches to a stop, as if it hit something. Diana instantly starts to unbuckle her seatbelt.  
"No! That's what they want!" Aelix exclaims, grabbing Diana's arm "They want to lure you out!"  
Diana huffs.  
"There’s going to be a point where I face them. Why not now?" Diana reasons. She jerks away from Aelix and jumps out of the car before we can say another word. Aelix swears. He sets Nathan down, grabs his weapon- a crossbow- out and on his arm. I grab my throwing knife bag.  
Our movements cause Sky, Justin, and Reilly to stir and wake up.  
"What the hell?" Reilly groggily moans.  
"Why are we stopped?" Justin asks.  
"The whole neighborhood is full of Ares' lackies," I report "We think they stopped the car. Diana ran out and Aelix followed."  
The three of them leave the car, their weapons drawn, despite all of my protests. A minute passes by.  
"Aw hell," I mutter. I leave the car.  
Reilly, Justin, and Aelix are protecting the van while Diana and Sky fight off red eyed attackers. I join the two girls.  
"Reilly! wake up Cole to fix the van!" I holler back to our second line of defense while taking out three oncoming goons. Cole crawls under the car.  
I take on two girls and a guy. The first girl comes at me with a sword. I roll away to my right to get away from her measly attempt to slice me in half. From the ground, I slice her at the patella causing her to collapse to the ground in pain right beside me. I knock the butt of my knife against her head, knocking her out cold. The second girl tries to straight-on jump me but I sink a throwing knife into her shoulder. She screams in pain, collapsing to the ground, where I knock her out.The guy launches his spear at me. I duck and grab it before jumping to a standing position, launch it back, it sails awkwardly, spinning and then hitting him in the head.  
Since no other attackers are present, I decide to check on the others.  
Cole struggles to fix the van. Justin and Aelix battle five people at the same time. Diana and Sky are on the other side of the van. When I reach a place I can see them, I am frozen in shock.  
Diana is kneeling on the ground next to Sky, who has an arrow protruding from her chest and stomach. All of the sentries are encased in a purple light, statue-still. Purple light also glows from Diana's hands, which are on Sky's stomach. Sky is breathing heavily. I approach cautiously.  
"I.... I.... I..... I can't," Diana sobs. The purple glow grows in intensity. I place a hand on Diana's shoulder.  
"Concentrate," I confidently order. I turn around to give her room. I am met by a wall of muscle.A six foot tall, 250 pound soldier tackles me to the ground. Another grabs Diana, while a third gags and blindfolds her. The guy who has me pinned positions us in such a way that I can watch my friend being captured and Sky's life fading until it, and Diana, are gone.  
I feel his hot breath on my ear. The guy tightens his grip.  
"Wanna know what we are going to do?"  
I whimper as he puts more weight on my legs.  
"We are going to take your precious, innocent friend and destroy the person she is. She's going to kill her friends and do very bad things to innocent people," he slithers.  
"No Diana will not. She knows deep down who the real enemy is, and will not succumb to your tortures. She is stronger than you think," I spit at him. I think back to the undercover training I did with Ares, trying to remember what his plan actually is, however I can't seem to recall any of it.  
A cracking noise draws my attention away from my thoughts. I realize that my attacker has been removed by Nathan hitting him over the head. Nathan stands above me, offering a hand. I take it; Nathan pulls me up into a grizzly bear hug.  
"Where's Diana? What happened to Sky?" Nathan asks. We part and my boyfriend looks me in the eyes, his navy blue orbs calming me down instantly.  
"They... They took her!" I exclaim, fighting back tears " And Sky... I watched her die."  
I can't hold back the tsunami. I hear two sets of footsteps.  
"Hey! Oh...." Cole says "Ugh, the cars fixed so we are going to get the hell out of here and regroup.”   
“So sorry to sound like a heartless dick, but you can cry in the car." Reilly finishes.  
Nathan helps me to the van. I am too distraught to do anything but stare at the back of Justin's head.  
Reilly drives out of the neighborhood to a path in the woods for campers and trailers, only a few blocks away from Diana's house. Everyone is awake now and asking what happened. Reilly explains how the van was attacked, Diana left to defend us, got captured, how Cole fixed the car whilst Aelix, Sky and I defended it, and how Diana was with Sky when she died.  
The scene replays in my head; how helpless Diana looked at me. She definitely cares about life; of other people and her own. However I know she will put other people's lives before her own if need be. I remember her trying to heal the fatal wound; what she didn't know was that the arrow had punctured Sky's stomach and the acids were eating her alive. She had a small chance of living. Diana's magic could have healed Sky, given she had the time to.  
Nathan squeezing my shoulder pulls me back to the present.  
"Marie? If you don't want to do this, you don't have to," Mark, Martin's boyfriend, tells me. I forgot he was here with us.  
"Do what?" I ask whilst sitting up straighter.  
"Diana thought-" Aelix's voice cracks. He clears his throat, swallowing his sadness. "She thought you and Nathan could pretend to be under the mind control. She magic'd up some colored contacts. While you were sneaking in, Diana was going to create a distraction. Ammon was then going to storm in with Mark, Justin and Reilly to rescue all captives. Ajax, Cole and myself were going to wait here. I guess Cole could create the distraction while you wait here and I go with Nathan?"  
"No. I will go" I firmly state.  
Aelix throws back two sets of contacts. "If you say so."

Joselyn's POV  
In my time of being a demigod at Camp Halfblood, I've faced a lot of monsters. Eva and I once went up against a hydra and a chimera with only chopsticks for a weapon (weirdest Chinese food restaurant ever). I was in the infirmary due to breaking a tailbone. I faced an ogre during a shopping trip; made it out with some wicked bruises and scratches. One of my ex's turned out to be an emposai; had to get stitches and a poison flush. Not to mention when I got a concussion recently. None of it compares to the pain I feel right now.  
The second thing I notice after regaining consciousness is the gut wrenching stench; blood, tears, and sweat. I am facing a brick stone wall lined with Diana's brothers. Each one has a number marked on their forehead with one through five missing. And IV drip is close in my sight however too far to reach; I am tied to a chair. An annoying beep comes from the machine attached to the IV which is followed by some of the teal liquid flowing into me, sending out a wave of pain. It feels as if every atom in my body is simultaneously breaking away from each other and then rejoining. I hear a few groans from behind me.  
"Joselyn? Eva? Sandra?" I hear Kacey groan.  
"Right beside you," Eva groans "Anyone know what the painful substance is?"  
Another wave of pain comes.  
"It's a poison," Sandra struggles to say. "It's the venom of a basilisk mixed with ecstasy. It isn't lethal but the reaction to our blood is what causes the pain and feeling of your atoms splitting and rejoining."  
Sandra screams in pain as she is given a bigger dose.  
"Very good," a creepy voice comes from the shadows. Ugene steps out from a dark corner in my peripheral vision. His image flickers.  
"What the f-"  
"Funny," he interrupts me "I thought you would try a measly attempt to escape.  
"Ugene," I snarl. He makes three clicking noises with his mouth, shaking his head and pacing slowly.  
"See, funny thing is, you don't really know me. You don't know my name, who I really am."  
His image flickers and Chris Nealson appears. But it's not exactly Chris...  
"You were pretending to be Ugene!" Eva exclaims.  
"If you girls look in that cage, next to the torture devices-"  
A pang of pain hits me. It can only mean one thing: someone nearby is going to die.  
"-you can see Martin, the real Ugene, and Wendy Summers," Eva finishes. The guy looks at Eva with a new interest.  
"Evaline Malone... To what do I have the pleasure?" Chris-but-not-Chris dramatically asks with crisp sarcasm. "Last time I saw you, it was about ten years ago... When you had my twin locked up!"  
"Twin?!" Sandra, Kacey and I exclaim in unison.  
"I thought Ares killed you," Eva darkly says.  
"Bad habits die hard, amirite?" he smirks "I think I should give you all a prize for being so clever!"  
He skips over to the wall of tortures with an evil and sadistic gleam in his eye. Another wave of pain causes black spots to dance in my vision, blinding me for a solid ten seconds. I hear the sounds of my friend's pain, of metal scraping against metal, and a whimper. My vision snaps to see Chris' twin holding a very drugged Derrek in front of me.  
"Joselyn Hunt... Daughter of Hades," The twin coos. I jerk my body to try and get free, but it's no use.  
"You probably already know what's coming," he laughs. He readies the ax in one hand, pushes Derrek down with another, and swings. I close my eyes just in time to miss the decapitation.  
"Jeffrey!" someone calls from behind me "Ares wants to see you!"  
I recognize that voice... I think.  
Jeffrey sighs.  
"Fine, but you have to come and clean my mess!"  
Jeff leaves. Two sets of feet come down a set of stairs behind me.  
"Marie? Nathan?" Eva exclaims "No, please! You can't be under mind control!"  
I hear Nathan smirk.  
"Just don't be too loud," Nathan says "I'll go guard the door while you free them."  
Marie starts with Kacey, and then frees me while Kacey frees Eva and Sandra. When I try to stand up, I collapse to the ground due to the weird drug still in my system and notice I'm shaking when Marie hugs me.  
"You all go back to the van. It's a few blocks from here, in the forest. Leave the rescuing to us," Marie says. She hands Kacey some food and passes the rest of us swigs of Nectar.  
"Where's Diana?" Sandra asks, finishing off her Nectar.  
"She got captured... But Nathan and I are going to rescue her after you guys are safety back at the van," Marie explains.  
Ammon suddenly pops into the room, scaring us. Upon seeing each other, they embrace.  
"Ammon! What are you doing here?" Eva wondrously exclaims. Ginnifer pops up beside them in a cloud of green smoke. She looks worried.  
"Guys, we have to abort the plan. Grab them and go!" Ginnifer panics. She grabs ahold of Kacey and Sandra's hands, the two closest people; a green smoke flies up their bodies. When I clears the trio is gone. Ammon offers a hand to Eva and I. We both take it.

The spot in the forest is a few kilometers behind the house, offering cover of the van. Sandra, Eva, Kacey, and myself are receiving medical assistance from Justin. He doesn't look like a man whose girlfriend just died.  
Ajax has a list from which he is reading from to take attendance. Aelix, Ammon, Cole, Eva, Kacey, Justin, Marie, Nathan, Sandra, Ginnifer, and Mark all respond when their name is called, as do I. Ajax sighs with fatigue.  
"We have lost Diana to Ares and Sky is dead... So I guess we have two options: head back to to camp and try later, or try again now but with less people and a new plan. However four of us are out for the count."  
Everyone looks at us.  
"How about Nathan goes in pretending to be under mind control, distracts whoever is guarding her, and then I sneak in to rescue her?" Marie suggests. Nathan plants a kiss on her cheek whilst wrapping an arm around her waist. Ajax considers this.  
"I don't see why not," he concludes.  
"Why can't I go?" Aelix defensively questions. Ajax sighs as if annoyed by the question.  
"Because your love will make you reckless."  
"What about Martin?" Mark objects. Ajax tiredly looks over at the homosexual teen.  
"When Diana is is back in our hands, mentally stable, and strong enough, then she will take on the whole army," Ajax levelly replies.  
"That's a lot of pressure to put on a seventeen year old girl, who four months ago found out that she's a demigod," I add in "And Diana isn't cool with killing people."  
"Well we will just have to fix that," Reilly nonchalantly says. "And I don't get why Ammon and I can't just teleport into there, invisible, grab her and go."  
Ajax smirks at this.  
"YOU Mr. King are too cocky. You would probably just go on and on about how you were victorious, the one who helped defeat the army; the one who saved the heroine in distress. And then you would get your ass handed to you."  
Everyone chuckles as Reilly turns a deep tomato.  
"Ammon," Ajax continues "Can't teleport him out of there by himself due to her power."  
Reilly and Ammon both sit down.  
"And other objections?" Ajax tiredly eyes everyone, daring us to object. Silence follows, releasing all the tension in Ajax. I watch Marie hand Nathan a pair of blood red contacts, exchanging a few words. Ajax slumps down next to Sandra, planting a kiss on her cheek whilst wrapping his arm around her. Ginnifer approaches the group.  
"You know, I could pop in and out really quick," she points out. Ajax tenses. Sandra sings a note; Ajax calms down.  
"I put Nathan and Marie in charge," Ajax says. Ginnifer nods and scampers away.  
"Ajax?" Sandra quietly says. When Ajax looks at her, all his stress and aggression melts away. Ajax cuddles her close; all of the other boys follow suit. Cole plants a soft kiss on my forehead.  
"Don't worry," he says "We will kick Ares' godly ass!"

Diana's POV-> a few minutes earlier  
One second I'm trying to heal Justin's girlfriend, Sky, and the next I'm suddenly gagged and blindfolded. My attacker pulls me backward; I feel a shift in the air pressure which means we are magically teleporting. I fight and resist the whole time, causing the person holding me to swear. She pushes me into the ground upon our landing, attaches something to my wrists, and then kicks me in the torso until I am gasping for air. I hear her walk away, her footsteps echoing. A door slams. I don't move at all, apart from breathing. I try to focus all of my energy, my strength into magic. It doesn’t work. I try this a second time, this one having more success. My hands heat up.  
"You know," a familiar voice slowly says from my right "I'm liking the broken, BDSM look on you. It's quite sexy."  
I don't say a word or make a sound. There's no way that this person will help. They lift me up roughly, dropping me- probably on purpose- and apologizes before trying again. He moves my arms (which have lost all feeling) to my sides, splays my body on some flat surface, straps me down by my ankles and wrists, and then takes off the blindfold. Upon seeing Ares, I almost gag just thinking about what he said a minute ago. He smiles as if I'm dinner and he is starving.  
"Hello my little invention," he coos, stroking my face tenderly. I hold back the urge to vomit.  
"Flirting, are we?" I smirk, hoping he doesn't notice the fear in my voice.  
"Can't I be nice every once in awhile?" he innocently asks.  
"A dipshit god like you? I don't think 'being nice' is in your repertoire," I come back more fiercely. Ares' face scrunches up as if my comeback struck a nerve.  
"Listen you little bitch! I will win! Your friends will die and you will be nothing. You're going to be so sad, so broken that you will accept Kronos willingly." he hormonally exclaims. I start laughing.  
"You can't break something that's already broken," I laugh. Ares screams and flips the cart I am currently attached to. I hear a loud CRACK, then feel a shooting pain radiating from my nose. I hold back my need to scream in pain, focusing on evening my breath. I focus on my friends, on Aelix. On how they would want me to be brave.  
"Oh, that is not a good look," one of the brothers in my head remarks.  
"That's a lot of blood," another comments.  
"That was a very deep comment," another says reflectively.  
I ignore them.  
Ares picks the cart up, adjusts it so I am back in the same position as I started. Ares looks down at my bloody face with pride.  
"I'll get one of my Apollo slaves to fix that up," he calmly comments whilst taking a swab of my blood on his pointer finger. His brows furrow.  
"Why aren't you screaming in pain?" he inquires. Amidst his talking and the comments my brothers are making, I hear a voice. It tells me to focus on my wrists and ankles. I obey; slowly and surely, I feel the restraints grow big enough for me to slip out with ease.  
Did I do this? Or is it someone else.  
I shrug it off and refocus on Ares. He goes on and on about how I'm going to experience my worst nightmares, how he will torture me to the point of wanting Kronos to take over my body, and how powerless I am. What he doesn't know is that the psychological and emotional torture I got from my mom- back when I was an Envis- is my worst nightmare. Right alongside losing my friends. Considering my 'mother' gave me depression and was the reason behind many cuts and burns on my skin, self-given. I was already labelled as the crazy psycho girl so no one believed me. There isn't much worse than having no say in what's happening to you, reaching out for help and then people not believing you. On top of that, she stressed me out about my grades, wanting them to be perfect. She tried to control what I wore, what I thought, and what I did. She lied to me often, or didn't think I could handle the truth.  
Ares shaking the cart smacks me back to the present.  
"Are you even listening to me?!" he bellows.  
"You aren't worth listening to," I say as if it's the most obvious answer. I muster all of my strength, flip the cart so I am standing up and throw it at Ares. He topples over; I slip free from the restraints just before it hits him.  
All this energy- from my anger, patience and longing for freedom- fuels my magic. I can feel it pulsing in my body. It swells so big that I can't contain it. I think about Ares, think about how much I hate him. I turn and face the god. I notice a mirror near him. My eyes are glowing purple, my hair flowing in the air by itself with a purple hue, and my hands exuding purple smoke.  
I make a pushing motion with my hands toward Ares. The magic is quick to escape my body, it's effects fading as a big, purple rope wraps around Ares tightly. He falls to the ground in a deep slumber.  
I know I didn't kill him but he will be very dizzy when he wakes up. Enough time to take him to Olympus and lock him up.  
Now that all of the energy has been expelled, I realize I'm not feeling too well. I turn towards the door and almost pass out. I keep my balance. After taking two steps I take a break to breathe. Take another few steps. Just before I reach the door, it opens.  
"Lord Ares, you sent-" Chris, but not Chris, walks in and stops after seeing the state of the room. He looks from me to Ares, to the cart.  
"-for me?" he finishes. He sees me but I now can't see him due to my eyelids turning into lead. The not-Chris catches me when I fall, my eyes rolling back. The last thing I hear is the guy asking what the hell I did to Ares.

The cold metal beneath me is a strange feeling in contrast to the heat on my back. I wiggle my fingers a bit, confirming that I am indeed laying on my stomach with my left arm as a pillow and my right hanging off the table. My vision is blurry at first however it adjust immediately. My memory also comes back. Last I remember, I passed out after using magic against Ares, realizing now that I didn't escape.  
I'm in deep shit.  
"Oh look! The troublemaker is conscious!" Not-Chris dramatically exclaims. He struts over to me and places a cold hand on my hot shoulder, the temperature difference startling me.  
"If you let me go, maybe I wouldn't be so much trouble," I assault retort. He gets back into my view I hear a buzzing noise, feel something enter my arm, and get severely light headed. The room swims and dips.  
"Too bad the essence has to be given to you by IV," not-Chris mutters.  
I whimper as a sharp fiery sting electrified every muscle in my body. I cough, trying to get more air into my lungs. Flashbacks from when I was a kid getting this done pop up into my mind. I give up this facade of strength and succumb to the tears, my screams filling the room.  
"Hush Diana!" Not-Chris hisses. He examines my lungs by using magic.  
"Patrick, she can barely breathe. The boss needs her breathing," he calls.  
Didn't Ares explain multiple times that he doesn't need me alive? If not, he would've killed me by now.  
Not-Chris and Patrick work together to hold me down as an Apollo kid slips a breathing tube down my nasal passage. I cough some more, throw up, and cry. Patrick pulls up a chair to my bedside while Not-Chris cleans up the mess I just made. Patrick strokes my hair, doing a spell to calm me down. Against my will I begin to feel zen.  
"Jeff, go get ready," Patrick orders sternly. Not-Chris, or Jeff, leaves. Patrick turns back to me.  
"I'm sorry Diana. I'm order for me to protect you, I must first do something I wish I didn't have to. Please keep in mind that as soon as I do this, I will be sentenced to death," Patrick quietly and quickly says. He stands over me.  
"What are you-?" I weakly rasp but am interrupted by Patrick kissing me.  
What the hell? I scream in my head. Bad idea. My brothers return.  
"Get it Diana!" one calls.  
"You like it!" another wrongly accuses.  
"I ship it!" another mocks.  
"Its for your own protection!" another dramatically reenacts.  
Patrick finally releases me. He backs up into the wall as a great cloud of mist swirls around him. He looks pained as his body absorbs the mist. The room darkens; a person appears amidst the mist.  
"Helios... Please! Don't do this!" Patrick bellows.  
"Helios? Isn't he the Titan of the Sun?" I ask. Why is the sun titan turning Patrick into stone?  
"That’s what everyone thinks when they see me. I ride the big fancy chariot, pulling the sun along. I do that, but I'm also the Titan of oaths. And Patrick has broken an oath." Helios says, switching his tone a few times.  
"What oath?" I ask, looking from Helios to Patrick.  
"Ares made me promise on the River Styx not to protect you from any of the stages. Unfortunately for him, I can't let him do that to my daughter," Patrick is crying now.  
"YOUR daughter?!" I exclaim "But Dionysus is my father!"  
Patrick chuckles.  
"Not biologically. Diana, I see you as my daughter. However I haven't acted much like a father due to the mind control. I'm sorry for that," he says sorrowful.  
"Looks like Diana is going to have to do this all by herself. You two can sort this out," Helios says, sounding bored. He disappears in a bright flash of light.  
Why does Patrick have the audacity to tell me that I'm his daughter? He has never been fatherly toward me. He never even knew me until less than four months ago. He thinks claiming to be saving me from something he can't prove is going to make me love him? He's mistaken.  
Patrick sighs; a puff of grey mist comes out.  
"It's started," he woefully says.  
"What's started?" I ask, curious. "I deserve to know. Why can't Hecate help? What did Helios mean when he said I have to do this by myself?"  
Patrick approaches me. He looks down at me, his grass green eyes filled with the regret of a dying man. When I am about to question him, I see it; from his green iris' shoots a red glow.  
"You're under the control?" I exclaim. "But...?"  
Patrick turns away from me.  
"Ares trusts me, however not completely. I have control over my thoughts and actions most of the time. There are moments where I can't control it. When I could, I've tried to help. Like just now, I put a charm on you to protect you from the seventh stage of Ares' plan. I can tell you all stages except the next one and stage seven."  
According to Patrick, stage one is separation; he tried it in Denver, and then succeeded today. Stage two is mentally breaking me; a continuous stage that is a part of the other stages. Stage three is physically breaking me. Four is emotionally. Five is next. Number six is isolation. He isn't allowed to tell me what stage seven is. Eight is Kronos entering and controlling my body.  
"So... You are going to help?" I clarify. Patrick woefully shakes his head.  
"I can't anymore; I am dying thanks to Helios. He put the Medusa hex on me. I'm slowly turning to stone. My feet..." he takes a few deep breaths. I study him; Pat's hair is longer, he is dressing in an army uniform. A purple and black striped bandanna is around his upper arm. His face conveys pain.  
"-have already turned," Patrick finishes after breathing.  
"PATRICK!" an angry voice bellows from the communicator on his belt. "HOOK HER UP!"  
I look to Patrick with fear; one of his eyes is green, the other blood red.  
"Yes boss," he calmly says into the device. Patrick wheels me over next to a guy, Jeff, positioning me so we are matched up limb-for-limb. I call Patrick's name, asking him what he's going to hook me up to. However I find him to be gone. Black magic fills the air. I cough and try not to breathe in the evil. I give up after a few minutes. I close my eyes, not being able to resist.  
A few seconds later I can see my body. I look peaceful while passed out. Accept for the part about my skin looking like ink has exploded all over. Jeff's skin has the same effect.  
Ares enters the room; the sight of him causes me laugh.  
The god has bandages all over him, his human form damaged. Edith the Apollo kid pushes him in a wheelchair. His face looks bruised. He glares venomously at my body.  
"I can't wait until stage seven," he mutters. Two demigods enter behind Ares, carrying a big box. They place it on a table behind the two bodies lying on the table's heads. The demigods take a plunger-looking device from within the box, strap it onto our heads. They feed a wire up our nose; they detach the IV and air tube from me. A vial of blood is taken from each of us. Patrick returns and is given the substance before leaving again. I follow him downstairs to my kitchen, which is being used as a makeshift laboratory. On the counter there is a symbol similar to the 'bound' one I had. Patrick mixes the two samples, dips his finger in, and traces the symbol with our blood. It glows, shoots up into the air as a vapor, and then follows Patrick as he goes back to the room. I follow.  
When I get back, I take a double look. They move the original me to a different room after the vapor dissipates into the two bodies on the tables. I follow Patrick against my will, leaving Ares and Edith with my second body.  
Pat goes upstairs to my old room, carrying my body the rest of the way. He places me in my bed, under the covers in the same fashion a father would with his sleepy toddler. Patrick sits on the edge of the bed, looking at my body with his blood red and emerald green eyes.  
"I'm sorry Diana, but I must do this..." he chokes up. Tears race down his face as he mumbles an amnesia spell- however it's not exactly amnesia...  
I suddenly feel drawn to the body lying in the bed. Ten of my brothers appear including Derrek. I back up against the door as they slowly advance on me.  
"Don't resist Diana," one of them orders.  
"This is for your own good," another says.  
"How?" I demand. They ignore my question.  
"You have a destiny to fulfill," Derrek says. I try to open the door I am backed up against but find that I can't leave.  
"There's no escape," they all say.  
I give up. I go towards my brothers willingly; they all cheer. My brothers pick me up like the MVP of the soccer team, carrying me over to the bed, and are just about to plop me down into the bed when the door to the room flies open. Nathan enters, his sword in hand.  
Patrick uses his magic to send the sword flying into my closet. A black smoke curls around Nathan, grips him, and he slides up the wall of my bedroom. Patrick is doing the Darth Vader force choke hold but isn't choking Nathan; it's what is holding him in place. My brothers decide now would be a good time to force me into my body.  
Everything goes black.


	2. Voices are Violent

A/N: YOU WERE WARNED. Also Trigger Warning: Self Harm

Diana’s POV  
"Patrick?" I ask "Why are you holding that boy against the wall?"  
Patrick is currently holding a pale boy with curly black hair, navy blue eyes, jeans, and an Underarmor sweater against a wall, his black magic restricting the boy's movement. The boy looks at me with a sad expression on his face.  
"Diana! It’s me! Nath-" he exclaims but receives a magic gag over his mouth.  
"He is the enemy; he wants to kill you and Lord Ares!" Patrick tells me. He looks really worried. "Kill him!"  
I look at the boy and back at Patrick.  
"Are you insane? I'm not going to kill him!" I firmly tell Patrick.  
"Damn hormones..." Pat mutters. I use my own magic to create a forcefield over the poor boy. Pat notices and shoots me a venomous glare.  
"Let him go, Diana," he orders through gritted teeth.  
"What did he do to deserve a death sentence?" I ask astounded, but don't look away from Patrick. He looks at me as if he is a wounded puppy.  
"He killed your brother, Greg."  
I remember Greg. He used to sing me to sleep when I had nightmares, help me heal from the cliff attack with love and care, but most importantly, he loved me. I summon a bow and arrow; knocking the arrow, I take my aim, right and the boy's heart, let down the forcefield, and... Hesitate. The boy tries to talk so I remove the magic gag.  
"Diana, he's lying! I never knew Greg!" the boy pleads desperately.  
"Yes he did!" Patrick wicked retorts. His magic disappears so I hold the boy up with my own magic.  
"What about Aelix? Remember him? He wouldn't want you to do this!"  
I tilt my head and furrow my brows.  
"Who's Aelix?"  
There is a noise from the window. I decide to ignore it; I pull the arrow tighter and aim somewhere else.  
"MARIE, I LOVE YOU!" he screams a second before the arrow embeds itself through the boy's eye, to his brain. I let him slump to the floor, a blood-curdling screaming emitting from him.  
"Nathan?!" I hear someone call from the window. Looking at the window, I spot a girl around my age with her eyes just peaking over the sill. Her eyes are watering. The girl glances from me to the spasming boy on the floor. Patrick claps slowly; wickedly.  
"I think I'll give you to your friend's now so they can see what you are capable of..."  
A black smoke swallows the girl and the boy before it engulfs me.  
When the smoke clears, I find myself standing in a forest in front of a small group of people. A few are conscious and staring at me in amazement.  
"Diana?!" a boy who looks like the one I hurt exclaims brokenly.  
"Guys, help Nathan!" the window girl cries. The group splits in two without any verbal communication. Half approach window girl and the guy I shot, the other approaching me. I am frozen in fear.  
Patrick said he had returned me to my friend's... But I don't know any of these people.  
The guy who said my name wraps me in a hug.  
"I'm so glad you're safe," he tells me, holding me right up against him. His hug feels familiar and it scares me. Luckily, he removes himself from me.  
"Please don't touch me," I whimper, my voice cracking. He takes a step back and puts his hands up defensively.  
"It's me, Aelix."  
The boy I shot, Nathan, mentioned an Aelix. Before I have time to react, a tall girl steps in front of Aelix and looks like she is trying not to cry, faking a smile.  
"Hi Diana. You probably don't remember me; I'm Joselyn." she calmly says. I back away in fear, looking around at all of their faces. They are all staring at me. My head starts throbbing. I feel faint. I back up against a tree and collapse to the ground. Joselyn motions for everyone except a black haired Italian-looking girl to stay back. They kneel a few feet away.  
"How about you come with us back to this camp we go to? We will feed you and have Dr. Solace check you out?" The other girl enticingly offers.  
Why would Patrick send me to these strangers? Was it to become friends, maybe get intel on this Camp? I take a deep breath and nod. They both release a long breath.  
"I'll call of the rescue team," a blond guy timidly calls.  
Suddenly my vision doubles, I feel nauseated, and my throbbing turns into a headache.  
LET ME IN! a voice says.  
"NO!" I yell. The blonde guy looks at me with confusion and fear. I grab my head and lay down on the ground. Joselyn drops down beside me.  
"Diana? What's wrong?" she calmly asks.  
LET HIM IN! a chorus of voices command.  
"Voices," I manage to get out.  
"Again?" I hear someone exclaim.  
LET HIM IN! LET HIM IN!  
"Get everyone into the van. Put the possessed ones in the trunk," a girl with blue eyes and brown hair politely orders. "Joselyn and Aelix stay here with Diana and I. Sandra, try to help Nathan."  
Everyone immediately goes to work; I look quizzically at the blue-eyed girl.  
LET HIM IN!  
"Are you their leader?" I ask.  
LET HIM IN! LET HIM IN! LET HIM IN! The voices double their intensity. I hold my head and scream, closing my eyes.  
"Diana! Diana, look at me!" I feel someone holding my upper arm and tapping my cheek lightly. I grab onto something and squeeze, an intense pain erupting up my leg.  
"You can shut them out," Aelix calmly says. "Open your eyes and focus on my voice, face, whatever helps you block them out."  
I snap my eyes open and meet brilliant navy blue eyes. The voices stop altogether.  
"Alex?" I start shaking in fear. What the hell do the voices want? Let who in? Who put the voices there?  
Alex chuckles.  
"Close enough."  
Two of the girls- Joselyn and blue eyes- help me up and support my weight by wrapping an arm around their shoulders. I look at them like a frightened deer.  
"What are you doing?!" I exclaim. I try kicking but they have lifted me off my feet.  
"You squeezed your ankle so hard that you broke it," Blue-eyes explains calmly. "We are helping you get to the van."  
FOOLISH GIRL! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! a raspy voice slithers. I feel my body go limp.  
"What's wrong?!" Joselyn asks.  
I lazy look at my forearm to where there are currently bandages. I feel something inside me change; my stomach twists into a knot; my heart beat speeds up a bit. The girls carefully place me down on the ground.  
"She's probably exhausted," Alex rationalizes "Let me carry her. You two go help them load the others; they will need it."  
The two girls and the blonde guy look at each other, come to a silent conclusion, and run to help.  
My eyelids feel like lead despite the fact I don't actually feel tired. Alex taps my face lightly again.  
"Hey, hey, hey. Stay with me, unless you are simply tired and want to sleep."  
I can't feel my body.  
"Numb," I manage to get out.  
"Numb?" he confusedly questions.  
YOU NEED DRUGS, a new voice says, this one vaguely familiar. DIONYSUS WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AT CAMP.  
"Drugs..." I mutter. Frankly, I just want to get better; I don't care what I have to do, anything is better than how I feel right now.  
"Dionysus... Drugs... Better," I mutter. I allow my eyes to close but keep repeating those three words. Alex calls over a boy.  
"Can you make any sense of this?"  
"Dionysus... Drugs... Better..."  
"I think it means that if we bring her to Dionysus, he will give her some godly drugs to make her better. From what I have been told, mortal drugs have no effect on her. What if the god of drugs were to administer some godly stuff?" another guy suggests.  
"Justin... That's brilliant! No wonder you're a son of Athena!"  
Everything goes black.

There is a beeping noise on my right. On my left is someone breathing loudly. I open my eyes slowly, for when I do I am greeted by white. White walls, white floor, white bed sheets, and white doctor coats. This is when I notice a boy and a girl, both in chairs, talking to each other. I prop myself up on my elbows but collapse due to lack of strength. The two people in the chairs look over, relieved expressions spreading across their faces. The girl orders the guy to grab me something to eat and drink; I admit, I am hungry and a bit parched.  
The girl has fiery orange hair that is in a braid, brushing her upper back. She is quite tall.  
"Hey Diana," she greets warmly "Remember me?"  
The boy returns with water and food.  
"No, sorry," I hoarsely say. "How long have I been out?"  
The guy brings over a table, sits on the side of the bed and offers me peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  
"One week," he answers. I stare at him.  
Why is this man sitting on my bed? He doesn't look like a doctor. I snatch the sandwich and gulf it down, and then chug the water immediately after. The guy chuckles. I make two observations about him; the first is that he is extremely attractive, the second that he has a name-tag on, reading 'Aelix Phillips, Volunteer'.  
"Thanks for the food," I awkwardly say. "Why am I here? Despite the whole passed out thing?"  
Is this one of Lord Ares' hospitals? Did I get knocked out in battle and am experiencing amnesia?  
"How are you feeling?" Aelix asks, ignoring my question.  
"Fine. You didn't answer my question," I snap harshly. "Sorry..."  
"You are experiencing amnesia, hence why Joselyn asked if you remember her. So, can you give me a brief explanation of how you feel?"  
A familiar, gross feeling decides to attack at this moment.  
"Like I'm going to throw up," I tell them. Joselyn instantly grabs a bucket and passes it to me. I cradle it in my arms for a minute before actually throwing up.  
"You were given some powerful medication that helps you to control the Voices," Aelix informs me.  
"I'm going to go fetch the group. Well, those who aren't in the hospital," Joselyn announces. She goes over to a shadow and disappears.  
"Who is in the hospital? Names might trigger some memories."  
"Ginnifer, Reilly, and Ajax are all being cleansed and Marie is at grief counseling. I'm supposed to be there too, but looking after you is more important," Aelix gives me a warm smile.  
"Why? I'm not THAT important," I snap.  
"Maybe to you, but you are to me!" Aelix snaps back, his face tense. Looking at my scared face must have triggered something because he relaxes and sighs.  
"Sorry, I just... Hate seeing you like this. Lost, scared, confused..."  
He begins to leave but I reach out and grab his hand, catching him by surprise and off guard.  
"Please stay... I don't want to be left alone". Aelix seems relieved and tired.  
"Sure thing."  
He sits back down on the bed, staring at his toes.  
"What is your relation to me? Are you my brother? Because if so, Ugene and Martin are in for a real surprise," I say to lighten the mood a bit. Aelix chuckles and glances at me.  
"I'm your boyfriend," he admits. I stare blankly at him. How could I forget if I had a boyfriend or not?  
"Oh... Well I'm not disappointed," I blush a deep red. Did I really just say that?  
Aelix chuckles, blushing a little.  
I THINK YOU WANT TO KISS HIM, the familiar voice says.  
I just met him! How do I even know if he is telling the truth?  
OH COME ON. I'M IN YOUR HEAD. I SEE ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS.  
Aelix chuckles, blushing a deep red.  
"So... You want to kiss?" Aelix awkwardly says. I look at him incredulous.  
"How did you...?"  
"You kind of just had a conversation with yourself," Aelix says. He gets off the bed, gives me a quick peck on my temple, pulls his phone out and calls someone. I use magic to hear the conversation.  
"Hey Eva, it's me.... Um I think Sandra needs to come and check her out.... She is awake but is still experiencing voices.... She just had a conversation with herself, meaning the voices have access to her mouth... Yeah... Okay... Will do, see you in a few!"  
Aelix hangs up the phone and happily approaches me.  
"Would you let a doctor examine your head? I really don't want to have to pull a code yellow," Aelix asks. He brings over a cart.  
"No! And what's a code yellow?"  
Aelix moves fast; he straddles my waist, handcuffs each wrist and ankle to the bed rail in one minute.  
"Aelix!" Joselyn exclaims from the door. She rushes over, rips Aelix off of me and puts herself between us. "What the hell?!"  
"Code Yellow, I swear!" Aelix panickedly exclaims. Joselyn gives him a death glare.  
"It better have been JUST a code yellow," she growls.  
"So," a girl says from the door "Why was I called to check out someone's head?"  
The girl has a name tag that reads 'Dr. Anderson'.  
"Well, Diana is still hearing voices and they now have maneuvered into her speech," Aelix reports. Joselyn unlocks the breaks from the bed; no one gives me a sign of releasing me from my confinements.  
"No... No no no NO NO NO!" I scream, tears filling my eyes. I struggle against the restraints. A memory pops up...

I am five years old. Mom has taken me to the Doctor with the weird medicine that's supposed to make me stronger. His minions strap me down to the medical bed. They give me a shot of a liquid that numbs any pain. I watch in horror as Doctor Aaron Warrell cuts a line down my stomach and sticks a tube in. Golden liquid flows down. I struggle against the minions but they are stronger.

When my mind comes back to the present, I'm in a different room. This one is a pale blue, has one door, and a mirror that let's people see in but not out. I scream and struggle against the restraints. I look around as I do this. Two boys are holding Aelix back as he fights to get to me. Dr. Anderson approaches me with a sorrowful expression. She tries calming me down but it doesn't work; I can't hear her over Aelix and I's screams.  
"SHE IS SCARED!" Aelix angrily bellows "I CAN FEEL HOW SCARED SHE IS AND IT IS KILLING ME!"  
"It's for her own good," I hear a Spanish guy calmly tell him.  
"Diana, if I take the restraints off, do you promise not to run away?" Dr. Anderson sounds as if it is taking all of her willpower to stay calm. "It's the only way we can help make the Voices go away."  
"I AM AELIX PHILLIPS, SON OF PHOBOS. IF ANYONE IS ALLOWED TO HELP MY GIRLFRIEND CALM DOWN, IT IS ME!" Aelix angrily bellows.  
"I'll do it if he is allowed to stay," I declare. The three boys all stop what they are doing and look at me, surprised.  
"Really?" a blue-eyed brunette asks. I nod.  
"If he says he can help, let him help," I rationalize. The brunette gestures for them to let go of Aelix.  
"Cole, Ammon," she calls.  
Aelix rushes over as soon as they loosen their grip. He grabs my hand; I instantly am less afraid. I let a few tears slip out. A new girl appears in my peripheral vision. Her hands sparkle green with magic. She places both hands on opposite sides of my head; the magic swims through me. It hurts. I scream out and thrash; scream for mercy, for forgiveness and at one point death. Aelix tries to calm me down but I can't hear him over my own screams, all the Voices yelling, and a high pitched buzzing sound.  
GET DIONYSUS! a voice yells.  
NO! another yells back YOU NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THE ENEMY!  
"GO AWAY!" I yell.  
NO! about twenty voices yell in unison. Suddenly everything goes silent. The pain, the buzzing, the voices, and my screaming.  
"Diana?" Aelix painfully asks. "Could you please release everyone?  
Looking around, I see that everyone else in the room (the brunette, the magic girl, Joselyn, Dr. Anderson, Cole, Ammon, and a short haired brunette) are attached to the wall by a combination of purple magic and vines.  
"Release me and I'll release them," I demand. Aelix squeezes my hand.  
"We are trying to help," he says like a wounded puppy.  
"Help? You think restraining me, torturing me with this magic is going to solve anything?"  
"We are trying to find out what is causing the voices and amnesia. Please trust us. We are your friend's," Aelix pleads. I close my eyes and picture all the magic and vines disappearing. When I open my eyes, all of the vines are gone. The magic girl undoes the restraints.  
"If they can get me to remember, maybe I will trust them," I say "All I know is that the voices in my head are multiplying and are at war with each other.  
"Until they come back, let's try to figure out the problem. We don't need anyone else dead." Joselyn says, a hint of disgust in her tone.  
"What do you mean, anyone else dead?!" I exclaim.  
"There is another group that are trying to possess you and use your powers for bad. They did it once and... You killed Nathan," Aelix tells me though he is shaking.  
"Who was Nathan?" I direct the question at the others, seeing that Nathan is a sensitive subject to Aelix.  
"Marie's boyfriend... And...." Aelix takes a deep breath "And my brother."  
Oh my god... I murdered my boyfriend's brother?! Why does he still like me? Why isn't Marie and he trying to get revenge?  
"So to prevent it from happening again," Marie coldly cuts the silence "We must fix the problem. Ginnifer, continue."  
I deserve all the pain brought upon me. I lay down and look at Ginnifer.  
"Go ahead."  
It feels like a part of me is being taken out of my head. A mix of pain, pressure, and discomfort radiate throughout my body.  
"What's happening?!" I scaredly ask.  
"It's magic. Ginnifer made a replica of your brain with magic. We can see where the problems are and can experiment on the brain rather than you" the blue-eyed brunette tells me matter-of-factly. Everything in my body goes back to the way it was before I had Ginnifer's magic in me.  
"Will I feel anything?" I whimper. She looks to Ginnifer; Ginnifer smiles.  
"No, you won't feel a single thing," Ginnifer brightly says.  
"I-I-I-I want t-t-to leave," I whimper, sitting up and hugging my knees.  
"Aelix, will you escort her to somewhere no one will stare?" the blue-eyed brunette asks.  
"Of course, Eva," Aelix nods.  
I swing my shaking legs over the edge of the bed. Dr. Anderson hands him a backpack and he puts it on before helping me stand up. Just as I stand, I swing a punch at Aelix, catching him off guard. He falls to the ground in pain. Eva and Joselyn approach next, cautiously. I kick Joselyn in the stomach, she falls, and then blast Eva with magic. I glue them to the floor with magic. Dr. Anderson and the Spanish guy come at me. I duck when the Spanish guy tries to grab me and then dodge the sedative Dr. Anderson has. I grip her arm at an awkward angle.  
"This is not how to win my trust," I spit at her before dislocating her shoulder.  
I glue the two to the floor with magic. The blonde guy attacks with a regretful expression. Before he can even reach me I summon a vine to wrap around is torso and hold him to the wall.  
I find myself facing the ground.  
"I really didn't want to have to do this," Marie says from on top of me. She sounds like she is holding back tears. I struggle against her but it's no use.  
"I just want to not be restrained!" I sob "Why are you treating me like a weird hybrid animal? I am a scared and confused girl with feelings and thoughts! Not to mention a fear of doctors and needles!"  
"Diana," Marie says "please believe me. You are our friend; we don't want to hurt you, but if it's the only way to get your memory back then we will try to lessen the pain... Now I'm going to let you go. We have what we need to possibly help us figure out what's causing the amnesia. Did you want to go with someone and do something?"  
Marie has such a sincere and enticing voice that I find myself relaxing a little when she finishes. She gets off of me like she promised; I release everyone like I subconsciously promised.  
"I want to see Patrick and Chris," I decide out loud.  
"NO!" Everyone yells. I wince.  
"Not them. They are the ones who are responsible for your amnesia," Aelix explains.  
"How about we go get you a new outfit so you don't have to wear that hospital gown around camp?" Marie suggests with an evil gleam in her eyes. "My siblings absolutely LOVE you!"

The moment we step into the vibrant pink cabin I get a pain in my head. I scream in shock for a few seconds.  
"What? What's wrong?" Marie worriedly asks.  
"I don't know... It's like something is trying to break through!" I exclaim. I feel out for something to lay on; I end up on the floor on my back.  
The memories hit me harder than they did last time. It physically hurts when they do; I feel as if I'd just finished a marathon that ran the world. I'm nauseous and my head is a tornado of memories. Waking up at camp; meeting my friend's; Dionysus going missing; my friend's and I sneaking out; kind of dying; the dance; Ugene kidnapping me; high school; meeting Marie, Nathan, and Lucas; Ugene torturing me; Ares torturing me. Killing Nathan.  
It all stops. I look up at Marie, Aelix and... A few Apollo kids?  
"Guys! It's me!" I exclaim. "Why am I in the infirmary?"  
"You were laying on the ground motionless. After five minutes, we took you back here. How do you feel?"  
I look around. Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, Marie, Kacey, Aelix, Ammon, Cole, and Ajax are all in the private room looking at me either worried, sad, or hopeful.  
"I think you should set up a coffee machine in my room so I don't forget all of my wonderful friends!"  
Everyone looks at me with relief. Marie, Josie, Sandra, and Eva all tear up. I look at Aelix lovingly.  
"Well, friend's and the best boyfriend in the world!"  
Aelix tackles me in a hug, holding me as if he intends to never let go.  
An image flashes in my mind.  
Nathan lies on the floor of my old room; an arrow I shot impaled in his eye, deep enough to kill him.  
I break away from Aelix. He immediately spots the sorrow on my face.  
"How do you still love me?" I hoarsely whisper.  
I killed Nathan. How does he not see me for the monster I am? Or Marie? She's the one who kissed him, loved him, touched him with with love, were in his arms.  
"What was that, sweetie?" Aelix asks. I get off of the hospital bed, pushing him away, not wanting him to see me cry.  
YOU'RE A MONSTER! YOU KILLED... NO MURDERED THAT POOR BOY! WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU? the voices scream.  
I run out of the infirmary, ignoring the people yelling my name behind me. I run to the arena, ignoring the stares of other demigods. I go into the weapons shed whilst the voices in my head yell at me.  
YOU KILLED NATHAN!  
PUNISH YOURSELF!  
I'm a horrible person. I murdered Nathan just because he was of no use to me. One of my friend's might be next. I can't go on without being punished. I've been a worthless pain in their asses, always having to be rescued and taken care of, never saving anyone.  
I grab the sharpest dagger I can find.  
YOU MURDERER! YOU ARE WORTHLESS!  
NOBODY WANTS YOU! AELIX ONLY PITIES YOU!  
I find the more cuts I make on my body, the quieter the voices are. When I run out of space on my wrist and forearm, I move to my legs. Then to my stomach. By now I can hear someone outside the shed, calling my name.  
YOU ARE A BROKEN TOY NOBODY WANTS! one voice remains.  
YOU KNOW HOW THE SUMMONING CEREMONY WORKS! YOUR BODY IS MORE USEFUL TO A GOD THAN YOU!  
"Diana!" Ajax exclaims. I didn't hear him enter or come close. I look up at him, frightened. He takes in the bloody mess I have made.  
"Oh, Diana..." he sighs with sorrow. I start to shake.  
"I had to be punished..." I managed to get out. Ajax takes off his shirt and wraps it around my bloody leg.  
"Cole! Ammon! Toss me your shirts! And don't let anyone in unless it's an Apollo kid!" Ajax calls. He receives two more shirts which he wraps around my other leg and then slips the second one onto me. He squeezes it tight for pressure and because it's really baggy.  
"Send Kacey in," Ajax calls.  
"Why are you helping me?" I croak. Ajax looks at me, sincerity written all over his face.  
"Because you are my girlfriend's friend and you are obviously unwell."  
Kacey trots into the shed. Her eyes fill with tears at the sight of me; Ajax orders her to keep silent. Ajax helps me onto Kacey's back before getting on himself.  
"Where..." Kacey is able to gets out.  
"The infirmary to clean her up and then she will talk to Mitchell," Ajax answers. He holds on to me so I don't fly off but is gentle with my wounds.  
I cry the whole way to the infirmary.

Joselyn's POV  
They won't let me see her.  
As soon as Ajax and Kacey retrieved her, they raced towards the infirmary, with Diana wrapped in all of the boy's shirts. Cole holds me when I collapse to the ground. Ammon is holding Eva, Sandra and Marie are holding back Aelix.  
"LET ME SEE HER!" he bellows.  
"No," Sandra calmly says.  
"Just give her some space. She needs time to herself," Marie tells him. She is surprisingly calm.  
"Last time she was by herself, she ran into the shed and did who-knows-what?! Why is she wrapped in shirts?!"  
"Ajax just texted me. Kacey and Mitchell want to know what we think they should do; Sedate her or try to reason with her. If they sedate her then her amnesia will return. If they try to reason with her, it might end with Diana in a restraint system," Sandra says.  
"With multiple Apollo kids doing tests on which drugs are best?" Aelix bitterly asks.  
"Guys?" I pipe up. Everyone looks at me. "Why don't we try talking to Diana? Mitchell might not know what to say or how to say it, and I'm pretty sure that locking someone away, when she isn't a threat, isn't going to help."  
Eva looks at me like I just inspired her.  
"All it's going to do is is make her feel bad about herself. Since she isn't a threat, I say we try to keep her awake and mentally stable. You don't deal with mental illness by doing tests and making the person not feel like a person."  
"You deal with it by trying to make their life as normal as possible. Medication is ok to get but constantly testing, picking around her brain is not right," Sandra adds.  
"Also talking to them when they need it and listening. Know that you may not be able to help but at least they know you care. Be sensitive with subjects that might trigger it," Marie says.  
"I feel the need to say something inspirational..." Cole awkwardly says. We all chuckle.  
"We should probably go now so they don't sedate her or reason with her," Ammon points out.  
We all collectively begin to sprint towards the infirmary. Unfortunately, we are too late. Kacey greets us at the door with a solemn expression on her face as soon as we enter. When we ask, she informs us it's too late. Diana is sedated; however there is something Kacey wants us to see. She leads us into the private room where we scanned Diana's brain earlier. Ginnifer is here with Ajax, both look like they are upset and perplexed. Diana lies unconscious on the medical table with a white blanket over her, reaching her shoulders. She looks peaceful. Looking at her gentle face sleeping, you wouldn't be able to guess the true horrors she has faced.  
That is until you look at the magical brain a little ways away. It is currently green with blotches of black throughout. I decide to wait for someone to explain despite the billions of questions swarming in my head.  
"What were you thinking?!" Aelix bursts "Now she is going to forget us and all that we have done!"  
Kacey and Ginnifer exchange glances.  
"We have found two peculiar things: the first is that when Diana is sedated, her brain activity goes up when it's supposed to stay about the same. The second is what she has carved into her skin," Ginnifer explains, holding back her sorrow. Kacey removes the blanket from Diana, exposing her blood stained skin. We all crowd around; I look at what she carved into her left leg.  
SOS. Psychic. Link. NOT MYSELF. HELP!  
What does this mean? What is she trying to tell us? Aelix luckily beats me to asking. Ginnifer approaches the table. She lifts up the daughter of Dionysus' right arm, where the Chinese symbol for 'bound' was on her arm.  
Looking now, there is no sign that it was ever there.  
"Her and Ugene were bound. Now, Diana has broken that bond but something else is wrong," Ginnifer says.  
"But what? The words don't add up!" Marie exclaims.  
"That's because you don't have all of the pieces," a familiar voice tasks from the door. We all whip around.  
"Diana is not here," says Patrick.


	3. Living Hell

Sandra’s POV

"Patrick?" we all exclaim, each person with a different emotion. Patrick stands in the doorway of the private room, leaning against the door frame, seemingly relaxed. He is decked out in all black with a red army jacket over top. His hair is longer than I last saw him; he keeps it in a bandana to keep it away from his eyes.  
Joselyn lurches toward him but before she can get close, Cole wraps his arms around her waist and keeps her from attacking.  
"What do you want Patrick?" Kacey asks levelly, uttering his name in disgust.  
"To give you vital information before my death," he calmly informs us.  
"I thought you were on Ares side?" Joselyn questions, only slightly more calm than before.  
"Correction: I'm on Hecate's side. I live to serve her. She decided that killing me might give me some perspective. So here I am, to help my daughter..." Patrick boredly says, sounding not too worried about his death. Wait, did he just refer to Diana as his daughter?  
"Ok..." Kacey says with a hint of warning in her voice "If you harm anyone while you spend your time here, I will personally make your death a long, drawn out, painful hell."  
Patrick smirks; he removes his jacket, his sweater, and when he removes his gloves a stone hand is revealed, followed by an arm and shoulder made of the same substance.  
"Trust me, my death is a drawn out hell."  
Ginnifer and Ammon jump to Patrick's aid as he collapses to the ground. Unfortunately for Patrick, he lands arm-first and it shatters upon contact.  
"Explain this!" Ginnifer demands.  
"Which part? I'm not going to last long," Patrick smugly says, knowing how desperate we are for information. When we all say different answers, he sighs in annoyance.  
"Hecate found out that Diana's entrapment meant that she couldn't master her powers. My mother has a special interest in Diana. Hecate believes that she has the capacity for clear magic."  
Ginnifer gasps. We all give them expectant looks.  
"Clear magic is is rare. It means the wielder of said magic is completely pure in heart. Hazel Levesque has clear magic."  
There is a small silence to let everyone get used to this new information.  
"Anyway," Patrick breaks the silence "Hecate doesn't like that when Diana wakes up and forgets, she forgets about her magic therefore being held back from her full potential. Ares feels she is a threat as well as the key to his success. When Diana supposedly broke the curse, she didn't understand the laws of curses or magic."  
Patrick looks at Aelix; we all follow his line of sight. Aelix looks as if just remembered something unpleasant and it is causing anger to to bubble up within him.  
"Aelix, how about you share what you just remembered?" Patrick joyfully inquires.  
Aelix grabs a piece of paper from Kacey's clipboard. He gets Cole to set it aflame and Eva to put it out. Aelix gestures to the little scrap left in his hand.  
"Think of a curse like the fire and the object binding the curse to be the paper. When the fire is put out, the paper loses parts of it, some of it is charred, and there's potential for another fire," he explains.  
"So... A curse can be restored as long as there is enough of the binding object left to use? Also it has a negative effect on the object?" Eva translates.  
"Exactly," Patrick says "So i didn't tell her about that. She told Helios about breaking the oath to serve her. Anyway, back to Diana...The thing is, Diana- the binding object- is stubborn and has to constantly been curse stimulation. Ares can't do that without having Diana near him."  
I look at Diana who is peacefully snoring as if she is just taking a nap.  
"But Diana is here..." Joselyn blatantly states.  
"Unless..." Patrick coughs. His face is taken over by pain.  
"Someone check his legs," I order, realizing what's going on. Patrick is slowly turning to stone. I can see that is left arm has gone stiff. Ginnifer reveals that Patrick is indeed stone-legged. The stone has travelled to his belly button.  
"Unless what?" Ginnifer exclaims.  
"Unless your Diana isn't actually Diana," he cryptically coughs.  
"What do you mean?" Marie angrily exclaims, but it's too late. We watch in horror as his head slumps back at an awkward angle; he releases his last breath which comes out as a black smoke. We stare in silence at Patrick's dead body, stuck in horrific silence until the stone reaches his hair.  
"What does he mean?!" Marie angrily exclaims, breaking the silence.  
"I think it means that whoever that is over there, isn't who we think it is," Kacey answers.  
Eva and Joselyn glance at each other then at me. I think they want me to check something.  
"Sandra could check her blood. I mean, if it really IS Diana, then we know if he was talking about it not being her mentally or physically," Eva says.  
"I'm going to have to ask everyone except Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, Marie, and Aelix to leave," Kacey says "We will keep the rest of you posted."  
Everyone else leaves without complaining, stepping over Patrick's body to exit. Ginnifer magic's up chairs before leaving. Justin brings in medical supplies.  
Looking down at her peacefully sleeping, her dried blood still on her skin. I hesitate.  
"I-I can't..." my voice cracks. I feel the tears falling; a hand is placed on my back.  
"Did you want someone else to do it?" Kacey asks. I turn to see Joselyn's welcoming arms. I accept her embrace willingly and start crying. I hear Kacey giving a name to Marie, her leave and then come back with someone. My brother Thomas enters with her, ready to do anything medical. He looks at Diana; he smiles goofily.  
"Bloody hell," he says, chuckling to himself. I don't know why but everyone starts chuckling to themselves.  
"Can you just get it over with..." Kacey asks. Thomas approaches Diana cautiously with the syringe. He tells us that he will be very careful. I look away, not wanting to watch.  
"I'll bring it to the DNA machine thing," he says whilst leaving. Aelix goes over to the chairs Ginnifer left and sits down in the one closest to Diana.  
"And now, we wait..." Aelix crawls.

It takes ten minutes for Thomas to come back with the results. During the wait, I play a patience hymn but the group just think I'm playing randomly. Eva and Aelix decided to scan the body on the table, adding to Kacey's notes. I watch them as I play; when they look at Diana's arm, Eva notices something and tells Aelix to jot it down.  
"What is it Evaline?" Kacey asks. Eva looks up as if not expecting to be put on the spot.  
"I just told Aelix that the Chinese symbol for 'Bound' has appeared on her arm," Eva tells us "Diana... Put the word bound there."  
"Did you write down all the words?" Joselyn asks. I keep playing softly while listening and watching.  
"Yes," Eva replies. She looks at Aelix; he takes that as his cue.  
"Bound, help, link, SOS, psychic, Not Ares, not myself, save me, torture," Aelix reads. Thomas enters a second after Aelix finishes.  
"What could it mean?" Joselyn wonders out loud.  
"Diana is not lying on the table," Thomas tells us. People whip around, just realizing he is there. "Lying on the table is Jeffery Nealson. There is a lot of strong magic being used to make him look like that. From the blood sample, I can conclude that there is a psychic link between Jeff and Diana. Basically Diana thinks she's here when the link is activated, like when she's awake here. She doesn't remember what is happening to the real her. When the link is is deactivated, or when she is unconscious here, the real Diana wakes up and remembers everything"  
He pauses.  
"And I only know that because Ginnifer was able to identify the spell for me."  
"We have to organize a rescue mission," Kacey declares.  
"But Kacey..." Joselyn sadly says "How can we do that without knowing where she is?"

Diana's POV

I wake up with the familiar metallic taste that's a symptom of coming out of a psychic link. I sit up and fight the restraints on my ankles and wrists. The room I have been in since the group came a rescued Diana-Jeff has rock and concrete walls. The door is made of cell bars with a lock that can only be opened by Ares, Ryan or Chris. I look down at all the words carved into my skin; hopefully it will help them understand that I am not with them. I look at the security camera in the corner of my room.  
I scream in pain from the amount of blood they take this time; the machine taking away my blood a pint at a time sends me a shot of morphine. They are performing a weird ritual to bind me to all those Ares wants under his control. It apparently makes them invincible, as well as preparing me to host the Titan Kronos. No big deal.  
"Look who decided to wake up," Ares slowly says, walking through the threshold. A nurse, Edith if I am remembering correctly, follows him in. She smirks at me.  
"Look at who doesn't have any friends," I spit at him. Ares sits on the edge of my bed. I back up as close to the wall I can get. Ares chuckles while selecting a bottle from his cart of tortures. He tightens the chains on my bed so that I am forced to lay down. Ares calls Edith over and points out the scars; ten times as worse as what I gave Jeff. The words on my body are illegible.  
"Now how could you have gotten these? I usually don't break the skin..." Ares coos. He knows the answer; he just wants me to admit what I did.  
"I cut myself while having Jeff's body. You know the tenfold rule." I admit.  
He traces his pointer finger along a gash on my thigh. I hiss in pain as my blood gets on his finger. He presses harder, and I scream in pain. He smiles wickedly.  
"Scream all you want but no one will help you," he sings. Ares pulls his finger out; Edith offers him a cloth to wipe my blood off. He takes it and does so. He picks up the bottle from a minute ago and displays it like it's his favorite trophy.  
"You see this bottle? It has a special kind of poison that cost me a lot to get," Ares pours it into the IV bag, causing the liquid to turn black. I watch in silent horror as it flows into my body. I don’t feel any different; I laugh at Ares.  
"Looks like you wasted your time," I mock. My body tenses up. I feel like my body wants to fold in on itself. I cry out in pain not caring about how Ares is grinning stupidly or how the group doesn't know where I am or how to know where I am. Ares smiles in satisfaction. The pain becomes bearable as I watch the war god pick up my weak arms, undoing the restraints. He send Edith to fetch something.  
"You be in more pain if that bastard Patrick didn't put a protection spell spell on you."  
This grabs my attention.  
"Wha-?" I am able to get out. The pain is draining my energy; energy for movement and magic. Edith returns with a wheelchair. Ares undoes all the restraints and effortlessly places me down into the chair, straps me in that, and smiles like a maniac.  
"I would have sexually tortured you as well but Patrick put a strong protection spell. I can torture you physically and emotionally," Ares growls.  
He put a protection spell on me?  
"Where is he now?" I am able to articulate.  
"Helios did his bidding. He was mad that he didn't keep his oath so he cast a spell that slowly turns Pat to stone. He used his last bit of magic to cast the protection spell after our last torture meeting" Ares informatively tells me.  
The torture meeting is where they literally brainstorm ways to torture me. I have attended some of these meetings whilst under the psychic link, according to Chris.  
We go up a set of stairs- a painful bumpy ride- through a few rooms, down a long hallway and outside. Once my eyes adjust to the light of sunset, I get a clear look at the place. We are on an abandoned farm. A well-kept abandoned farm. There aren't any animals, the building is huge, and there is no smell of death. There are crops and a garden. Edith pushes me toward the barn. The barn itself is about twice as big as the house, is red with its paint peeling off, and indeed looks abandoned... From the outside.  
Chris meets us at the door and smiles. He plants a kiss on my cheek; the only part of me without a gross gash. Edith let's him take over the pushing and she returns to the house. I angrily say his name, but it comes out horribly. Chris chuckles at me.  
"Hello to you too," Chris smugly greets. He pushes me into the barn.  
First thing I notice is how high-tech the facility is. Where there used to be wooden pens are glass and steel holding tanks. About one hundred people float in individual tanks. They are suspended in a light red substance with various tubes attached. The tanks are stacked high enough to reach the ceiling with a big hallway in between. At the end of the hallway are two items: a restraint system and a chest. A Greek word is on the front of the chest but I can not read it. I feel another round of intense pain. Chris strokes my hair as an attempt to comfort me.  
"Don't worry Diana... Your death will come soon enough," he coos.  
A giant wave of pain rolls up my spine; the kind that feels as if my actual spine is rolling up on itself, twisting, breaking.  
"Hmm?" I am able to get out. Christopher wheels me over towards the restraining system. I didn't notice until now that the roof has a big window.  
"The chest contains a mighty Titan who's been defeated for ten years. During the next full moon he will rise and rule mount Olympus. However he needs a body. Yours is perfect."  
I writhe in my current restraints. "Why... Is mine... Perfect?" I am able to concisely say.  
"Despite its frail and tiny size, it is. You are capable of magic when nothing is preventing it, and you have godly essence- more than your fellow demigods- running through your veins."  
Christopher detaches me from the wheelchair, plops me onto the restraining system. He secures me nice and tight before stepping back and admiring my writhing, gory body. His hands glow yellow; my mind tells me he is going to magically torture me.  
"Here," he says softly. Chris hovers his hands all along the visible body parts causing the wounds to heal from his magic. Whilst he is finishing the second leg, I look down at him wondrously.  
"Why are you helping me?" I ask. The pain is almost completely gone due to the healing magic. I can tell I hit a soft spot with him. Chris chuckles sadly to himself.  
"With my father gone, no one else will protect you. I know that I haven't been the best but this is for your own good. It's so Ares has a clean slate to torture you with."  
He pulls a phone out of his pocket. He types on his phone for a few seconds and then shows me.  
I AM ON YOUR SIDE. CONSTANTLY MONITORED. WILL HELP SOON.  
I nod.  
"You will see. Your life is pathetic. By dying and letting a god host your body it will be worth something," Chris tells me as if reading from a script. "The ceremony will be during the next full moon."  
"How will I be fed?" I ask, a slow panic rising inside me. Will I be able to get out in time? How much do my friends know? Is this my last chance to live? I've cheated death before, I don't want to tempt fate. However my fate of going insane still hasn't gone away. I might not have any stability left.  
Chris sighs.  
"You are not going to like it," he informs me. Chris goes somewhere behind me.  
"Just relax, and it won't hurt," Chris orders. This causes me to tense up more. I feel a pinch in my arm and then something sticky to hold it in place. Chris returns to stand in front of me.  
"Ares believes you are almost ready. He thinks a few days in here alone will help make you feel isolated."  
His phone buzzes; he checks it.  
"I have to go," Chris looks up at me. "I suggest you spend as much time with your friend's as possible."  
Chris leaves as my eyes flutter closed.

A few days later  
I smile drunkenly from the last few day's memories. I was sort of at camp. The first day was tough; the group did not trigger my memory as fast as last time. What triggered it was a picnic Aelix and I went on. They told me that Aelix was the to talk to about my fear of the place. I wanted privacy so he suggested a picnic. I agreed; we had peanut butter and jam sandwiches. After, we kissed in the grass and lied there, looking up at the sky. The girls came to find us after half an hour. They tried some spells to get me back but it was no use. None if the memory spells worked. I suggested we waited for something to pop up, to enjoy the time we have while we have it. Kacey decided to send Marie, Aelix, and I out for groceries. I brought my bow and arrows, Aelix brought his crossbow, and Marie brought her daggers in her makeup bag. Marie drove and made Aelix and I sit in the back.  
During the ride, they told me everything they found out. They asked if any of it rang a bell and since I don't remember anything about Ares's tortures while being Jeff-Diana, I only made them frustrated.  
A lot of people eyed us suspiciously at the grocery store. I don't blame them; we used as little Mist as possible for fear of monsters being able to sniff us out. The Mist only hid our weapons. Due to all the cuts and such, I was in jeans and a baggy hoodie in 90 degree weather. Marie was in shorts and wore a goodie so I would not stand out as much.  
We almost made it out of the store area unscathed. The guy at check out was checking me out as be bagged all of the freaking groceries.  
"Damn baby, where are you from?" he asked me. Aelix's guard went up right away.  
"What's it to you?" Aelix asked, a hint of threat in his voice.  
"Easy man. I'm just wondering cause I haven't seen people like you round these parts," the checkout guy defensively said. I patted Aelix while flashing an apologetic smile at the guy.  
"Don't mind my boyfriend," I told him sweetly. We grabbed our groceries. As we left the store, I noticed that the check out guy went on break after serving the person behind us, and went into a back room, all while Marie was fighting off some perv. Just before we got to the car, we heard whistling.  
"Hey there," the clerk said. We spun around. His body started bubbling, his limbs melting. I immediately knocked an arrow and shot it at him. This caused his body to turn into a nasty black substance, similar to liquid tar. Just before I was about to say how easy it was, all of the store clerks assembled outside. They grabbed each other's hands, melted into the tar substance, and then came together to form one big pterodactyl looking monster while we stood in pure awe. The monster eyed us, licking it's lips and swooped forward. Aelix and I quickly jumped out of the way; Marie however dis not. The beast grabbed her with it's razor talons. Marie helped in pain as it started carrying her away. Aelix and I looked at each other; both thinking the same thing, we aimed at the ankles of the beast and fired. Our arrows embedded themselves in the ankles of the beast. It's muscles contracted in pain and let Marie go. I made a bed of grapevines so that Marie wouldn't die. I ran over to her, helped her out, made the vines disappear, and inspected the damage. She has scratched all over her but is otherwise fine. When I looked over to Aelix, I saw that the thing was attacking him; he was fending it off poorly with his crossbow. We ran over and quickly chopped it's head off by using magic and one of Marie's daggers. I inspected Aelix; his arm has a big oozing gash. Instead of fainting, I quickly and urgently got to work. I took off the white shirt I was wearing under my hoodie, left the hoodie on, and wrapped his arm to stop the bleeding. Aelix stared at me with wonder and curiosity.  
"Diana?" he asked, trying to hold back his true emotion, just as I finished. Marie was staring in shock.  
"Yeah?" I asked, not knowing why they were so shocked.  
"You... Didn't faint!" Aelix exclaimed, looking from me to his wrapped arm and back again.  
I looked at him with total seriousness.  
"I love you and you were hurt. I took a first aid course for my job as a camp counsellor and still remember some of it," I replied. I finished tying his arm and helped him stand up.  
"Let's go before we get attacked again," I said.  
They nodded in agreement and we got on to the road, this time was driving. Aelix took a nap in the back. Marie studied me the whole drive. I was, and still am, used to being studied so I didn't say anything.  
The whole drive back, I kept thinking about how I didn't faint at the sight of Aelix bleeding. I was confident, and proud of myself.  
After returning back to camp and carrying the groceries to the kitchen, I go with Aelix to the infirmary. He draped his good arm around me, planting a kiss on my temple. I wrapped my arms around his waist.  
An Thomas came to our service immediately upon entry. He looked me up and down, searching for something wrong. Aelix met his confused expression with a cheerful one and raised his bandaged arm.  
"I need stitches," he announced. The Apollo kid looked at him shocked and then over to me.  
"Why is she here then?"  
I felt Aelix squeeze me tighter.  
"I need SOMEONE to hold my hand," Aelix told him as if it was obvious. Thomas nods, muttering something, and then leads us over to an empty bed.  
He instructed Aelix to sit on it and wait for another Apollo kid to come. Aelix obeyed; Thomas left.  
I took a seat next to Aelix, on the side his bad arm was on. I stared at it for a while.  
"Hey," Aelix softly said. "What's wrong?"  
I smiled sadly.  
"You're hurt..." I managed to say.  
Aelix pulled the sleeves on my sweater up to reveal some of the words I cut into my skin. He looked sadly at me.  
"So are you."  
An Apollo kid decided to come over at this moment. One of Sandra's brother's brought a stitching needle, some thread, and his typical medical equipment. He shyly set it down on the bed next to me. He prepped the stitching material.  
"This may sting or hurt," he informed us. He grabbed my arm. An image of Ares doing the same thing popped up in my brain, except he was stitching up a gash he made to test how fast I healed with the extra ichor inside me.  
I jerked my away and curled into Aelix, fighting back tears.  
"I'm the one who needs stitches," Aelix protectively said, placing his arm around me and showed the Apollo kid my bandage job. The guy apologized profusely and quickly got to work on Aelix. I got Aelix to hold my hand and told him that if it hurts to squeeze. Once the proper bandage was over the stitches, we went into the Phobos cabin, sat on his bed, and played some board games.

That night, Kacey decided to have a meeting about what to do about my amnesia. Kacey, Evaline, Marie, Joselyn, Sandra, Justin, Aelix, and a jury of Apollo kids as well as children of Hypnos were there. From what I understood, it is to decide whether to put me in a coma or hype me up on drugs. I am too in shock to tell them that I would rather sleep so I don't harm anyone however I don't want to sleep and miss out on saving myself. I don't want to be a problem anymore.  
I sit next to Aelix and Sandra in the meeting room. The Hypnos kids describe what would happen to me if we put me into a coma and the Apollo kids went over what would happen if I were to stay awake. Eva, Joselyn, Sandra, Aelix, and Justin said they would prefer to put me in a coma than take lots of drugs to stay awake. They tried asking me questions but I was too in shock to respond.  
Kacey's voice cut through my thoughts.  
"Ginnifer, thanks for bringing Dionysus," she greeted. This caught my attention.  
"Sorry about his appearance," Ginnifer said "I found him drinking what's left of the stash in his cabin."  
Dionysus was almost as pale as me, his beard and hair went in a thousand different directions, his Hawaiian shirt wasn't done up properly, and his eyes were bloodshot. He glanced at me and began to cry big hearty sobs.  
"My baby girl..." he wailed. He drunkenly staggered over and wrapped me in a hug. He stroked my head.  
"What have they done to you?! They took your already broken mind and shredded it to a zillion million thousand and twenty two milli-pieces!"  
Ginnifer and Aelix helped him to his seat; Kacey replaced the empty flask with a cup of coffee.  
"There's a serious matter at hand. Since you are her father, we figure you should make the decision," Kacey told him "Or you can step down and guardianship goes to the next eligible person. Since her brothers are gone it would be one of her friend's."  
Dionysus nods.  
"I pass it to them because I'm in love with Jack Daniels," the mighty god of alcohol and parties slurred. He proceeded to pass out.  
I was finally able to find my voice.  
"I'm scared," I managed to get out before collapsing into Sandra and crying. Aelix returned so Sandra passed me to him.  
"Aelix, would you accept guardianship?" Kacey asked.  
"Yes," Aelix replied. He held me close and whispered to me that everything would be okay, that he won't abuse his guardianship.  
In the end, they chose to put me into a coma because it is the safest option. They concluded that I can not give them any useful information and would rather my sleep be controlled than waking up and find me missing or worse. I sobbed into Aelix the whole time. Aelix and my friend's are going to help prepare me for the coma.  
I was catatonic due to shock so when it was time to go, Aelix wrapped me in a blanket and carried me to the Dionysus cabin. Joselyn, Eva, Sandra, Marie, Justin, and Ginnifer followed us. Aelix placed me onto the bed, then backed up so Sandra could address me. She placed a set of hospital clothes- but not exactly- onto the bed.  
"Can you change yourself?" she questioned. I stared blankly at the clothes. Marie sat down in between myself and the clothes, tears brimming in her eyes.  
"Go to the bathroom and put on the clothes," she commanded. I didn't realize she was using charmspeak so I got up slowly, took the clothes, stalked over to the bathroom, and got dressed. In the bathroom, I studied my body; after carefully removing all the bandages, I traced my fingers gingerly over the words. I wondered why I carved these words, pondered their meaning. Mostly to get my mind off of what was about to happen.  
I left the bathroom and went straight to my bed. I slipped under the covers, pulling it up over my head. I felt someone sit near my feet.  
"Diana?" Sandra softly said. I began to cry.  
"I'm sorry I'm so troublesome," I sobbed.  
I heard the group discuss how to go about sending me into the coma. They decided to let me go to sleep with some sleepy gas. And then, once they are sure I'm out cold, would give me and IV. I felt Sandra get off of the bed, a new person sat down, and heard receding footsteps. I peaked over the covers to reveal Ginnifer sitting down. She smiled weakly.  
"So you're just going to sleep it off then?" she sadly joked. I chuckled a little; she pulled me in for a hug. Ginnifer left and Marie entered. Marie hugged me straight away.  
"Just don't forget me this time," she told me. I chuckled again as she left but stopped short. That was actually really sad.  
Justin came in next. He plopped down beside me, stared into my eyes, and placed a hand on my shoulder.  
"We'll coma back for you," he said with total seriousness. He removed his hand and grins goofily. "Get it? Come back? Coma back?"  
I chuckled a little however the nice sentiments of everyone trying to cheer me up had made my eyes water.  
"But seriously... We'll fix it," Justin stood up, made a heart with his hands, and left. As he went out the door he called "Love you girl!"  
Evaline entered next. She approached the bed hesitantly, sitting down. Eva looked into my eyes with sincerity.  
"I know you are scared because you don't know what's going on or what will happen. If you only have one thought amidst your slumber, or wherever your consciousness goes, let it be this: we are coming to save you. You are strong."  
I wrapped her in a hug and cried.  
"So... You're sleeping beauty now?" Eva commented. I laughed.  
"I guess so," I managed to say.  
Eva broke the hug after squeezing me tightly. As she left, I noticed a few tears escaped her eyes.  
Joselyn came in after. She tackled me in a hug with tears streaming down her face.  
"Please try to remember me after you wake..." Joselyn pulled away, cleared her tears, and managed to smile. "It's hard to forget a face like this, eh?"  
I pulled her in for another hug. "Sandra and I are going to be the ones who help you slip into the coma," she told me. Joselyn pulled away.  
"But first, Aelix wants to see you."  
On cue, Aelix entered. I smiled at him as he approached.  
"There's my sexy guardian," I teased. Aelix looked at me oddly.  
"You've never called me sexy," he commented. I shrugged.  
"I figured I'd give it a try before I go to sleep for who-knows-how-long." I chuckled to myself. Joselyn 'sneaked' out of the cabin.  
"So why are you my legal guardian? I can make my own choices... Not that I don't trust you," I asked. Aelix looked at me, surprised.  
"You don't remember?" I shook my head "After the two options were displayed, they asked you what you wanted to do. You weren't mentally stable to make the decision yourself; we came to the conclusion that your closest guardian shod should make it for you.  
I didn't remember any of it. I looked at Aelix, taking what I hoped wouldn't be the last look at him.  
"I'm scared," I told him weakly. His strong façade fell away; he joined me under the covers. We cuddled as I cried. Aelix lifted my chin so I could make eye contact.  
"I will be here every step of the way," he promised.  
I brought my lips to his, the kiss lasting only a few seconds, but felt like hours.  
"Cute!" Joselyn called, causing us to break away. Sandra, Joselyn, and Justin entered the cabin, carrying scary-looking medical equipment. I pulled closer to Aelix. They sat the equipment down near the bed; Justin left. Aelix grabbed my hand, drawing my attention back to him. His eyes looked into mine with pure love and sadness.  
"Every step," he said.  
Sandra ordered Joselyn and Aelix to hold me in place. Aelix held down my left side; Joselyn held down my right side. Sandra put a sleeping-gas mask on my face. I tried to break free, me fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. Sandra noticed my rebelliousness.  
"Uh oh... Um don't panic, just chill," she instructed. "I'll do something."  
The machine started up; it pumped sleeping gas into my lungs. My vision blurred. My body relaxed.  
"It'll be okay... I think... Probably."  
And that was when I woke up here.

After waking up, I see Christopher in my peripheral vision. I realize I'm laying down on a gurney and am able to move my upper body. I try to sit up on my elbows but fall due to a shaking fit.  
"Don't try to move. I'm taking you someplace private without any surveillance" Chris informs me. I look up at him.  
"What? Why?" I question.  
"It's the police. Ares doesn't want you to be taken away, and we can't glamour you, the workers, plus an entire army," Chris explains "My job is to keep you safe from the police. The only place to do that is where even Ares can't watch over you."  
This is our chance to talk about what the hell Chris meant. He told me he was one of the good guys but I don't know if I can trust his word.  
"Why am I so hard to cover?" I ask. Chris has tears in his eyes and one drops on to my forehead. He opens a door and tells me we have arrived at our destination. He helps me off the gurney and over to a couch after we get through the door. He lifts up my arm in front of my face; it is lightly pulsing from a golden colour to my regular skin color.  
"You have subconsciously accepted Kronos. You are part God and gods radiate power that humans can be drawn to," Chris explains. He proceeds to tell me that he is going to take the ankle cuffs off of me, but only if I swear on the River Styx not to magic myself out, try to escape, or hurt him. I do so; he takes the cuffs off. This allows me to use magic to fuel myself. I stand up without feeling dizzy or nauseous. Chris looks pleased.  
"Ok so first thing I need you to tell me: how the spell Patrick put on me works. Second is why you are being a double agent," I demand him.  
Chris sits down on the couch. He magically conjures fruit and some drinks. I look at him with confusion.  
"I thought you might like something to eat. I mean, other than the nutrient liquid Ares uses to keep you alive," Chris explains. I cautiously eat the food, suddenly losing myself in the taste and feel of solid food. Chris asks if he can magically heal my wounds; I let him. His hands glow yellow and i feel them lightly brushing over my skin. I feel the wounds healing, the skin reattaching and creating new skin cells. He also heals the IV holes.  
Once i am done eating, I wipe off the the fruit juice from my face. Chris hasn't told me anything yet. I look to him.  
"Can you explain what spell Patrick did to me?" I ask. Chris, who is currently healing a bruise from when my body apparently rejected an IV, doesn't look up from his work.  
"He did a spell that Hecate bestowed upon him. What it does is stop any sexual advances that you don't want. The spell burns, hurts, maybe even kills the person attacking you in that way; whatever makes them stop."  
I look at him skeptically.  
"Is that true?" I question. Chris looks up from his work. He grabs my head and pulls us together, going in for a kiss. Immediately his lips start bubbling, burning, and bleeding. He backs up before he gets the chance to kiss me. He swears to himself. I quickly use my magic to heal him; his lips glow a purple colour before returning back to normal. Chris thanks me for healing him.  
"I will caution you that I don't know if it wards off wanted sexual activity as well," warns me.  
"Now that I know that... What about you being a double agent of sorts?"  
Chris sighs. He explains to me about what happened when he was little; Ares told him to marry Evaline and instead of wedding vows, they would recite a binding spell so Kronos could possess Evaline. Ammon busted in at just the right moment, saving Eva by pushing Chris out of the way and towing an unresponsive Eva to the infirmary. Chris was punished by getting locked up in the Hecate cabin. Patrick came every so often to give reports about Ares and their plan. After a few years, Patrick was starting to think that Ares taking over the world would be bad. He explained to Chris why and that he would try to stop it. It was before the attack on Ares' fortress that Patrick was mind controlled. He told Chris that he had to escape, he had to help by pretending to be on Ares' side. Chris begged and tried to convince people at Camp Halfblood that he was a changed man, however no one would believe him. He decided to not choose a side. Chris went crazy for many years. He broke out because of Sandra's sister accidentally walking into the cage. He spent a few days as a madman before coming to his senses. He tells me he has a plan but doesn't tell me my part in it. He just tells me to act how I would typically act.  
"What if my friends rescue me in time?" I ask. I remember my friend's 'last' goodbyes in a tidal wave of memory. I start to cry.  
"What will happen to my friends if Ares gets his way?!"  
Chris sighs.  
"Now THAT is up to you."  
I look at him, confused.  
"What do you mean, 'up to me'?" I ask.  
The door suddenly swings open. Ryan Clark stands in its threshold with two other guards. Ryan enters and takes in the scene. I realize I am still crying.  
"What the hell did you do?" Ryan asks. Chris' face turns cold. He puts a hand up to silence Ryan.  
"That's right you dirty skank," he sneers. Chris grabs my upper arms tightly and jostles me around. I get what he's doing; Chris wants it to appear as if he has been torturing me. "Your friends will die and Ares will rule!"  
I wail and sob, hoping that our show is convincing. Chris stands up and pulls me with him. When I am standing, he lets me go.  
I find myself back on the ground, my cheek pounding. I hear Ryan question Chris about what Chris was able to do to me. Ryan asks what stage we are one. Before I can get an answer, a loud voice screams in my head.  
HELLO! I'M BACK  
I realize that I have also said this out loud and have somehow moved onto my back. Ryan looks at me with sinister pride.  
"I think stage seven can start," he joyously tells Chris.  
I am too busy getting yelled at by my own head to fight back when they pick me up and carry me back to the barn. The voice gets louder and louder the closer I get to the barn.  
Once strapped into my restraint system, Ryan orders Chris to leave. He looks at me with a hungry gaze.  
BET YOU MISSED ME  
I'M ON YOUR SIDE  
LET ME IN!  
Those phrases repeat over and over again until a cold piece of tape is attached to my temples and I feel a zap go through my head. I realize Ryan has administered a shock to my head.  
"That will shut them up long enough" Ryan delightfully informs me.  
"Enough for what?" I ask.  
Ryan lowers the restraint system. He snickers.  
"I've wanted to do this for a long time," he purrs. I swallow hard.  
Ryan places his hands on my hips, where the elastic in my shorts is. He gives me a look that is supposed to be sexual but comes out looking constipated. He pulls at my shorts, trying to pull them down; they don't budge. He tries yanking them, ripping them, but nothing happens. I let out a breath of air that I didn't realize I was holding in. He tries my top, and after failing, decides to straddle me. He swoops in to kiss me, his hands going for something bigger, and then is pulled back by some mysterious force. He screams. I get a glance of him before his right arm is magically chopped off, his lips blistering and bleeding, as well as a red spreading in the crotch area.  
Ryan collapses to the floor in pain.  
I lose consciousness.


	4. Trips

Sandra’s POV

I get Diana to fall asleep pretty easily. Considering the body is actually Jeff's, we did not have to concoct her usual sleeping draft. Ginnifer entered, shortly after I booted Aelix out, saying that she thinks she found how to lift the veil off so we can get to Jeff. He is our best chance at finding Diana. Ginnifer tells Joselyn and I to go release some stress with the others.  
We find Eva, Marie, Aelix, and Kacey in the arena; Eva and Marie are sparring, Aelix is punching a punching bag, and Kacey is sitting in her chair reading a book. Upon entering, I notice that Aelix has bloodshot eyes. Joselyn joins Aelix at the punching bag. I decide to play my clarinet, not wanting to work out. I play a relaxing and soothing song that seems to just flow out of me. Aelix is the first to have a physical change; his body releases a large amount of tension it held, and he seems more calm. The others unknowingly follow suit, and after an hour of training, we all decide to go get some rest. Since Ginnifer is with Diana, we do not have to worry about her waking up or getting hurt. Ginnifer knows how to change out the sleeping medicine magically.  
Before entering my cabin, I decide to check up on the child of Hypnos responsible for monitoring Diana-Jeff's sleep patterns. The door is open due to the cabin being too lazy to close or lock it. I can't count how many incidents the infirmary has had involving a night harpy and a sleep-walking Hypnos kid.  
Clovis sits on a bunk in a meditative position. If he senses my presence, he doesn't give any indication to acknowledge it. I wait a few minutes.  
"Hey Clovis, I-" I start but Clovis cuts me off by shushing me.  
"Some people," he whispers "are trying to sleep."  
I look around at all the sleeping people in the cabin then readjust my volume.  
"How's the dream-thing going?" I whisper. Clovis furrows his brows.  
"It's.... Weird. I can tell that the real Diana is currently awake while Jeff is asleep. I can not tell where the daughter of Dionysus is, nor can I tell her mental state."  
"Thanks Clovis," I whisper "I will inform the others"  
Clovis returns to his unresponsive state, to which I take as a sign for me to leave.  
As soon as I enter my dorm, I have two siblings helping me get to bed. I didn't realize I am tired as I am until my siblings are tucking me into bed because I can't do it myself.

Waking up to birds chirping and a light coming in through the window, lighting up the cabin, is the first conscious thought I have. One of my brothers, Thomas, passes by just as I'm becoming one hundred percent aware of the world. I ask him what time it is. He has a goofy smile on his face and is twirling a pair of drumsticks in his hand. He informs me that it is eleven in the morning. Oh no, I think, I slept in!  
I rush to get ready; I throw on a white shirt covered in music notes that is baggy, some jeans, and flip flops. I put my hair in a messy bun on my head. I grab my weapon bracelet from the shorts I wore yesterday. By now it is half past eleven, which is lunch for the camp. Lunch for the infirmary is at noon. I decide to head to the picnic tables. I do not get stopped on the way, luckily. There are a lot of campers eating when I arrive. As I watch people going to grab their food, everyone seems to sadly look over at the empty Dionysus table. Well, almost empty. Aelix sits alone, playing around with his food and not really eating his food. He has kept his hygiene up despite how unmotivated he is. I grab some food at the same time Ajax does. He places a kiss on my temple and asks if I just woke up too. After getting his food, he goes over to the Dionysus table and sits next to Aelix, clapping him on the back before sitting down. I head over to the Apollo table.  
"Sandra!" Gwen exclaims. She moves so I can sit next to her as she pets Ginger. Her positivity level when she looks at my face. "What's wrong?"  
I look at her sadly.  
"One of my friend's is captured by the bad guy," I tell her. I don't want to scare her too much, so I'm not going to explain the whole situation. She sits and takes a thoughtful bite of her mac&cheese.  
"Is that the Dionysus daughter? The one who sleeps a lot? Gwen asks inquisitively. I chuckle a bit.  
"Yes, the one that sleeps a lot."  
Is Diana sleeping right now? Or is she awake being tortured? Gods, I hope she is asleep because they like to hear her suffer. Since it is noon, she is probably awake. If she is awake, Jeff should be asleep. What if we somehow wake Jeff up when we lift the veil? The two possible outcomes if we are successful are that Diana passes out and wakes up here, or Jeff is forced out of the psychic link. Unless Jeff and Diana just fall unconscious. All option have some rewarding quality.  
I rush to finish my bowl of mac & Cheese. I then gather up Eva, Joselyn, Marie and Aelix. I explain to them what I thought up; they all agree. We all head over to the infirmary's intensive care unit.  
The place is lit in green smoke when we enter Jeff-Diana's room. Ginnifer sits in a chair with half her attention on the magic, half on the plate of mac & cheese sitting on her lap. I approach her; she looks at me with tired eyes. I explain the plan to her after sending Eva to fetch Clovis. He can monitor Diana's consciousness level. By the time I am done explaining the plan, Eva has returned with Clovis and has filled him in. Ginnifer gets Clovis to stand outside the door, Marie and myself in front of it, and Eva, Josie, and Aelix with her ready to restrain Jeff if need-be. I run and grab two shots of adrenaline. I pass them to Josie and Aelix (who learned to find a vein during the month Diana was in the infirmary).  
The adrenaline starts taking effect at the same time Clovis is able to peek at Diana's consciousness level. We watch as the intense glamour bursts off, and Jeff bolts to a sitting position. Clovis starts waving his hands jerkily; Josie and Aelix discard the needles and the four of them restrain Jeff. He breathes heavily as Ginnifer restrains him with magic.  
"GUYS!" Clovis calls. "Diana is awake!"  
"Does that mean the link is broken?" Aelix asks.  
Jeff stirs. He groggily opens his eyes and lazily smirks at us.  
"Once I go to sleep," he slowly says "the link will reconnect and you may not be able to get this to work again.  
"Where is she?!" Aelix darkly growls. Ginnifer orders him to calm down and tells him she will kick him out if he doesn't. Jeff laughs at us.  
"I have been trained to be immune to any physical torture you do. I'm not telling you anything!" he cackles. Aelix suddenly grabs the collar of Jeff's shirt and brings him close to his face, making threatening eye contact. Jeff's smirk is replaced with a look of pure terror, loss, agony. After a few seconds, Aelix shoves Jeff away, leaving the son of Patrick shaking.  
"What the hell did you just do?" Joselyn exclaims.  
"Used a few tips from my siblings. Showed him his worst fear," Aelix darkly informs us. He turns to Jeff.  
"I'm going to ask one more time... Where... Is... Diana?!"  
Jeff breathes heavily.  
"New Jersey Abandoned Barn. Ares is close to having what he wants and by the time you get there it will be too late."  
"What do you mean, 'too late'?" Joselyn asks warily.  
"Kronos will possess her body. He and Ares will go to Olympus and knock Zeus off his high podium, they will run the world. Diana will be the face of the rebellion. She is being tortured as we speak to the point of not wanting to live. She will accept Kronos and she will accept her own death," Jeff smiles a little "Wouldn't be the first time."  
Aelix punches him before any of us could stop him.  
"Aelix," Ginnifer scolds "remember that what you do to Jeff will go back to Diana tenfold!"  
Aelix storms out of the room, calling back to us that he will be in the training arena if anyone needs him. Jeff eyes us after Aelix's departure and smirks.  
"Who's next?" the maniac sings.  
Marie approaches him. She forces Jeff to have eye contact with her.  
"Is there any way to break the link?" Marie asks. The forcefulness in her voice clues me in; she is using charmspeak on him. Jeff shivers.  
Y-y-y-yes," he replies and swears immediately afterwards. Marie looks at us excitedly and then turns back around. "How?"  
Jeff smirks.  
"Not. Telling."  
I decide to go through my sheet music on my phone to find hymns of truth. I take out my clarinet after finding one. I interrupt Marie's heated conversation with Jeff.  
"Can I try?"  
Jeff laughs so hard, tears escape from his eyes.  
"What are you going to do, play me a little song in hopes that I will tell you something?!" he hysterically exclaims.  
I ready my clarinet. The notes come out beautifully, dancing in the air and filling everyone's ears. I signal for Marie to ask the question again.  
"How do we separate Diana and you?"  
"Not... Telling..." he starts. I amp up the volume to a forte. Jeff gets a constipated look before yelling "POTION!"  
I stop playing and smile. Looking back at Ginnifer, Eva, and Joselyn, they look confused.  
"What's in the potion?" Eva asks, the first one to recover. Jeff gives us a look because we all know what he's going to say. I ask everyone to leave the room. They comply; I give Jeff an innocent look.  
"Tell us what the ingredients are please," I politely demand. Jeff replies with a blank stare.  
The noises and squeaks I force out of my clarinet are unbearable for him. It takes about one minute before Jeff exclaims that he will tell me. I stop playing.  
"It's called Elixir Separatum. You need to get blood from both of us, the blood of a god, and dirt from an ancient Greek temple."  
Everyone has now reentered the room. Jeff coyly smiles.  
"Good luck bitches," he laughs. Before we can react, he lunges towards us. However due to the magic restraints, he doesn't get very far. His body slams into the hard surface of the table he's on, his head hits it hard, and he passes out.  
"Well, at least we got a whole bunch of information!" Joselyn points out.  
"I wrote down the potion and it's ingredients," Ginnifer tells us.  
We send Joselyn to find Cole and Eva to find Ammon who will get Reilly. The two boys will locate where the barn is. Ginnifer and Marie are left with Chris knocked out, Clovis as still as a statue, and myself. Ginnifer decides that Marie myself and one other person shall travel to Greece for the dirt. We go to find Chiron and Kacey so they can issue a quest.  
We find them in the Big House with Dionysus. Kacey is reading a book while while the other two are playing a board game. Ginnifer eyes the God warily.  
"Chiron, we need you to issue a quest for Marie to go get dirt from Greece," she says.  
"Why in the Hades would you need dirt from Greece?" Dionysus asks. Ginnifer, Marie and I all exchange looks.  
"It's to rescue your daughter," Marie gently talks them. Dionysus slowly raises his head to look at Chiron. The centaur meets his threatening and depressed gaze with an authoritative one.  
"Dionysus... I've already explained why we can't rescue her. We lost many demigods the first time, I don't want to put any more lived in danger for one little girl. I'm sorry," Chiron firmly and calmly says. We are about to defend Diana when Dionysus slams his hands on the table, destroying their game, and stands up.  
"Firstly, my daughter is currently being prepared to host a freaking TITAN in her body. One who wants to cleanse the world of certain people, including your precious camp. Also who said there would be deaths? If we plan this right, no one has to die! Well, Kronos will hopefully but he doesn't count."  
At the mention of Kronos, we all gasp.  
"How do you know it is Kronos they are trying to revive?" Marie asks. A look of recognition crosses her face but leaves as fast as it came.  
"Overheard an Ares kid before they left camp to join forces with his father."  
Chiron looks disgusted and shocked.  
"They are leaving to join him?!"  
"Besides the point." Dionysus brushes it off "If you do not issue a quest I will have to deliver an ultimatum."  
Chiron quizzically raises an eyebrow. Kacey looks up from her book.  
"Like what?"  
"Well, since one of the... Pleasant things my children possess is a curse pertaining to my powers, how does this sound? For every hour you spend not giving a shit, I will personally bestow the curse on a camper. I will start with the healers and go from there."  
We look at Dionysus with astonishment.  
"Dionysus... You wouldn't!" Chiron offendedly questions.  
"MY CHILDREN ARE BEING SACRIFICED TO KRONOS!!!" Dionysus screams at Chiron. He puts his head in his hands and wipes away tears.  
"Not that you would notice that my whole" Dionysus swears "-ing cabin is missing. You know, almost all of them are mentally unstable and you haven't done jack shit to help. Now they are dying, and you might even be glad. What about those kids?! What about THEIR lives? They have problems... Ones they can't fix on their own. They need people..."  
Dionysus gestures to us.  
"People like them. They are willing to break the rules of camp and sneak off to do what they need to so they can go all the way to Greece and get an ingredient to help Diana."  
"How did you know we were going to sneak off if we weren't granted permission?!" Ginnifer asks.  
Dionysus smiles at us with love in his eyes.  
"Because you love her as much as I do."  
Dionysus points a finger at Chiron.  
"You... I am done. Find some other god to help you out!"  
With that, the god of wine teleports out of the room. We all stand in awkward silence for a while.  
"So... Quest or nah?" Ginnifer asks to diffuse the tension. Chiton sighs.  
"Sure... I don't care... You are going to go anyway so why not give you permission," he defeatedly tells us.  
Kacey looks at her dad, incredulous.  
"Dad, I thought you would care by now!"  
Chiron sighs. He leaves and calls us all to follow. He sounds a conch horn when we reach the pavilion. Campers rush over as fast as they can, all looking confused as to why they are being summoned. Chiron instructs us to go sit with our cabins.  
"We are at war," his voice booms in the quiet pavilion. "I know some of you may have thought Ares was defeated back in June... Well he was not. I'm sure you are all aware that the Dionysus cabin has gone missing, along with many of your siblings. If I'm being honest, I haven't been doing my job and because of this realization, I announce the last quest I will ever announce. I call upon all of you to defeat Ares, once and for all. Kacey will lead you."  
Kacey looks at him with shock; we all gasp. Kacey steps up to be next to Chiron. We clap and hoot.  
"Okay... So there are three people who are going to make the trip to Greece. Marie, Sandra, and we need another volunteer."  
"I volunteer!" Justin calls. Kacey accepts.  
"Joselyn or Ammon will help you teleport there."  
Ginnifer runs up to Kacey and quickly whispers in her ear. Kacey nods and Ginnifer returns to her seat.  
"Nevermind. Ammon and Cole are issued the quest to find the barn Diana is locked away in. The last ingredients for the separation potion are the blood of Jeff and the blood of Diana."  
"I'll get Jeff's" Aelix calls. We all turn to look at him. "And Diana's if I ever get the chance."  
My brother Thomas raises his hand. Kacey gestures for him to speak; everyone turns to him.  
"How do we know this potion will work? Do we know how much we need?"  
Kacey turns to Ginnifer.  
"On it." Ginnifer snaps her fingers, a green smoke envelops her body, and she's gone. Kacey turns to everyone else.  
"I don't get why we are spending so much time on retrieving that wack-job" one of the remaining daughters of Ares says. Kacey sighs.  
"Unless you all want to die, you will help when needed. And this 'wack-job' has been through shit your nightmares would be scared of."  
Kacey scans the crowd and everyone silently watches her.  
"As Chiron said, we are at war. If you were not given a specific job, go train.  
It isn't until Kacey is gone that everyone finally disperses. Marie and Justin approach me, with Joselyn in tow. Marie has an aura of excitement.  
"I've never been to Greece!"

The first jump Joselyn does without killing herself takes us to France. Paris, France specifically.  
Joselyn manages to stay conscious until we find a hotel and get rooms. I help her to the bed; tuck her in and play a sleeping hymn and a peace hymn.  
The hotel is decent. The toilets work, the water is clean, and the bed is simple. I decide to join Marie and Justin, leaving a note for Joselyn. Upon entering Marie's room, I am pulled into a debate. Marie is trying to persuade Justin to let her explore Paris a little. Justin argues that we should stick together. Marie retaliates with the fact that we can go in pairs, and that staying as a group might attract monsters.  
"City of Love, with a child of Aphrodite roaming free? That should be fine," Justin deadpans.  
"I won't get into trouble; I'll have Sandra with me!"  
Justin and Marie look at me, wanting me to pick a side.  
"I guess a little sightseeing couldn't hurt."  
Marie squeals; Justin sighs.  
"Find; have fun."  
As Marie and I leave, Justin calls out to us.  
"Pick up some food on the way back!"

Diana’s POV  
I awake with a jolt. I would have been able to sit up if I wasn’t locked up in the restraint system. The first thing I notice is that my heart is pounding in my chest and I feel energetic. I also feel slightly frightened. I realize that I’m in the barn. Chris notices my distress. He puts something away; he starts stroking my head in a soothing manner.  
“Ares ordered me to give you adrenaline to wake you up,” he informs me. His eyes look at me, filled with concern.  
“Ares wants to know-”  
Chris gets cut off by Ares, whom I didn’t see or hear enter.  
“How the hell did you kill Ryan?!” Ares angrily asks through gritted teeth. My heart speeds up more; I worry it is at a dangerous rate.  
“I...I...I...I..” I stutter. Ares approaches the restraint system, causing Chris to back away. He has something in his hand. Ares stabs me in the abdomen; I scream in pain. My vision blurs. Blood starts oozing out of the wound. Ares twists the blade. I scream some more.  
“Let me ask again,” He angrily says.  
“I don’t know!” I cry out. I try moving my hands to the wound but am reminded of the restraints.  
“Did you check the video camera?” Chris suggests. Ares looks at him. The god blushes before informing us that he did not. Ares disappears; he tells Chris to clean up before leaving. Chris gets right to work. He calls a child of Apollo- that bitch Edith- to help. She sets up some medical equipement as Chris comes closer to my face. He strokes my hair; I am still crying and believe that I’m actually going into shock.  
“Ares used a God Blade, so I can not heal you with magic, nectar or ambrosia. We are going to have to sew you back up after seeing if your organs are okay.”  
It takes me a minute to process this.  
“Unfortunately, we are going to have to keep you awake while doing so.”  
I look at Chris wide-eyed. He grabs a cloth from the cart and wipes the sweat and tears from my face.  
“I will have to help Edith with the procedure,” Chris conjures up a few substances. He looks at Edith.  
“Now this next bit… if you tell Ares, I will kill you,” Chris says. “Swear it on the Styx that you won’t tell him.”  
Edith swears on the Styx not to tell Ares. A puff of yellow smoke engulfs the magician’s body and clears to reveal that he has teleported. Edith sets up a curtain so that I can’t see what she’s doing. She analyzes the vials Chris previously had. She chooses one; Edith comes over to my head.  
“Open your mouth and drink. If you don’t I will have the pleasure of watching you writhe in pain as it enters through your IV,” Edith coldly orders.  
I do as she says. She returns to her work. Edith cuts away the cloth around the God Blade so she can better access the puncture wound. I ask what the potion does; she informs me that it allows Chris’s magic to control the blood flow and he will make the wound stop bleeding. Edith informs me that since I need to be awake, she will have to perform an epidural. It will allow me to feel everything except the pain. I ask her why I need to be awake. She tells me that not only is it torture, but it is because Ares doesn’t want me escaping to my friends at Camp Halfblood. I feel her dabbing a cloth to clean up the blood that has spilled out of me.  
We wait in silence for Chris to return.

 

Eva’s POV  
Aelix and I help Ginnifer with reading through the potion books after the camp-wide meeting. Since everyone in our friend group has a job except us, we were given the task of finding the potion. Aelix reads with such a laser focus that when we decide to take a break, we have to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention. He reluctantly puts the potion book down. Ginnifer magic’s up some snacks.  
“So, Aelix,” Ginnifer says whilst chewing on an apple “How are you doing?”  
Aelix looks up from the orange he was slowly peeling.  
“After some, ugh, therapy with Mitchell, I am better. He helped me get to a place where I am worried about her but not insane. I can think logically now.” Aelix calmly says.  
“Good. I’m glad you are better, and glad that you feel comfortable sharing that with us,” Ginnifer replies.  
Evaline, I hear. I look to the door but find it to be empty.  
Evaline, I hear again.  
“Guys, did you hear that?” I ask.  
“Hear what?” Aelix asks.  
Evaline! Come outside!  
“Guys I am hearing a voice. It wants me to come outside,” I inform them. I grab my sword; Aelix readies his crossbow. As a group, we head outside.  
Evaline, come alone, it says.  
“They are staying until you reveal yourself,” I say out loud. Silence follows. Aelix shoots a bush, the arrow sticking into the trunk. A person jumps out from behind it; I realize this person is Chris Nealson.  
“Don’t shoot!” he calls.  
Aelix aims his crossbow at the boy’s head.  
“Give me one good reason…” Aelix snarls.  
“Why are you here?” Ginnifer questions.  
“I’m going to die if Ares finds out I’m doing this…” he mutters. “Look, Diana isn’t who you think-”  
“We know your twin is replacing her and the real Diana is in a barn somewhere,” Aelix cuts him off. Chris looks surprised.  
“Oh… Well in that case, I’ll just get right to it. Ares stabbed Diana with a God Blade and she needs you to help her through the procedure.”  
Chris looks to Aelix.  
“You can literally take away her fear,” Chris looks at me “And you can come too.”  
“What about me?” Ginnifer offensively asks.  
“You,” Aelix answers “can keep reading.” He lowers his crossbow.  
Chris approaches Aelix and I. At the snap of his fingers, we are overtaken by a yellow smoke. Once it clears, I find myself in a barn. Except, instead of stables, there are people floating in a light red substance with various tubes in them. Diana is in the middle; I almost scream.  
She looks dead. I would probably think that she was if her chest wasn’t rising and falling. There is a divider placed on her stomach so she can’t see the blade that is sticking out. A doctor is preparing something in a syringe.  
Aelix takes one look at Diana and his knees give out. I help him stand up; he is too shocked to display any emotion. The sound of Aelix falling causes Diana to notice us.  
“Eva?! Aelix?!” she whimpers. “Did Ares kill you?!”  
Aelix and I stumble over to her, each taking a side. I realize Diana is in a restraint system.  
“No.. we are here. Really here…” I tell her. I put a hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture.  
“Now you two swear on the Styx you won’t try anything to free her, and to not go exploring. If not, I’m sending you back and Diana will have to go through this without support.” Chris says. Aelix and I swear on the Styx.  
“Okay so now that I have extra hands, I’m going to get you to help roll her on her side so I can administer the epidural,” the doctor says. Chris lets the restraints retract on one side so we can roll her on that side. Aelix, Chris and I roll Diana on her side. She is so scared, she is shaking and crying. Aelix moves to be closer to her face. He strokes her face lovingly.  
“Hey hey hey hey hey hey…. Diana look at me, I’m right here. Focus on my voice. Everything is going to be all right. I’m here. I am really here.”  
Diana’s crying turns to sobs.  
“It hurts… and I’m scared…” she sobs. Chris passes Aelix a towel and Aelix wipes Diana’s face off. He looks at Chris.  
“Any way to make the, uh, table bigger?” Aelix asks. Chris looks at him weird but uses magic to extend the table so there is enough space for two people. Aelix crawls on, lays down, and hold Diana in his arms (making sure to avoid the blade protruding from her abdomen). She calms down to the point of breathing normally. Aelix kisses her forehead. The doctor sticks in the epidural; Diana gasps.  
“You okay?” Aelix asks. Diana nods numbly. Chris asks Aelix to get off of the table; he returns the table to it’s normal size. Chris goes to help the doctor chick after we help Diana roll onto her back. Aelix and I decide to help distract her.  
“Why exactly does she have to be awake?” I ask.  
“So she doesn’t wake up at Camp Halfblood,” Chris answers.  
Diana holds our hands tightly. Aelix tells Diana about how we are all going to come rescue her once he and I return to Camp Halfblood. Diana squeezes my hand viciously, a few tears escaping. I ask what’s wrong but she is concentrating on something else.  
“She can feel everything we are doing. It probably is uncomfortable,” the doctor chick informs us. Diana is noticeably trying not to cry. Her arms are tensed and her eyes are red.  
Aelix starts to do something I never expected; sing. It’s a love ballad about lost lovers who reunite with each other after spending so much time apart. Diana relaxes. Once Aleix finishes, he leans over and kisses Diana’s cheek. When he pulls away, she smirks sadly at him.  
“C’mon, you can do better than that,” she teases. Aelix chuckles sadly before giving her a kiss on the lips. This soon turns into making out.  
“Would you two lovers stop?” Chris calls. Aelix and Diana part.  
A few minutes pass. Aelix and Diana do small talk; Aelix tells her about training and how he’s helped out at the infirmary. Diana tells us about all the tortures she’s going through and about the spell Patrick placed on her before dying. Aelix comments, saying that although Patrick was an asshole, he thanks and respects him for that.  
“Almost done,” Chris informs us. Diana gets a look of worry on her face.  
“What happens when you are done?” she inquires, her voice trembling.  
“I will bring your friends back to camp.”  
A few tears roll down Diana’s cheeks.  
“We are coming to get you,” Aelix sincerely tells her.  
“I can’t let them leave now that they know about the whole operation!” the doctor exclaims.  
“You swore on the Styx not to tell,” Chris reminds her. The doctor looks up at Chris.  
“I would gladly die to let Ares know that you are a traitor,” she sneers.  
Suddenly, Diana pulls me close; I look at her with alarm.  
“What’s-” I start but Diana cuts me off.  
“I can feel her hands stitching me up,” Diana whispers, fear and disbelief in her voice. “Make it stop Eva…”  
It saddens me to see her like this and to hear of everything she has gone through. I can see the damage in her green eyes; Aelix can too.  
“Done,” Now we just have to bandage and clean you up,” the doctor lady announces.  
“I can help,” Aelix offers, a threatening undertone to his voice. “It’s about time someone who loves her looks after her.” He looks to Diana and adds “If that’s okay with you.”  
Diana nods.  
Chris orders to let Aelix do it. The doctor chick stubbornly agrees. Chris escorts the doctor out of the barn to give a status report to Ares. He tells us he will be back in a few minutes, all the supplies are in the cart.  
Aelix goes right to work; he washes around the stitched-up wound delicately, as if he is afraid that one wrong move could kill Diana. Aelix grabs a pair of shorts from the clothing drawer and explains how Diana can put put them on if she is uncomfortable with Aelix or myself doing that for her. We can unlock all restraints except one, therefore not breaking our oath, and she can put them on herself. Aelix moves the curtain device so Diana can slide off of the table easily. Aelix turns around, not wanting to see anything Diana doesn’t want him to. I hold a sheet up to block my view as she changes but let her know if she needs my assistance to just ask. Diana stands up, asking that I help her stay standing as the epidural hasn’t really worn off yet. Once she is dressed, Aelix and I help her get back on the slab she’s been living on. She pulls down the elastic of her shorts just far enough down that the wound is exposed, but nothing else is. Aelix prepares the bandage stuff. He starts dressing the wound. I distract Diana by blocking her view and explaining what everyone is working on right now. Aelix lets us know he’s finished and returns to his spot closer to Diana’s face. He plants a kiss on her forehead; a tear falls into Diana’s hair.  
“You’re so strong,” he tells her.  
“I love you Aelix,” Diana says.  
“I love you too,” he sincerely replies. Diana looks at me and smiles a little bit.  
“Love you too, Eva!” She giggles. She hisses in pain; Aelix and I exchange concerned looks.  
“The epidural started wearing off as I got dressed,” Diana explains. “Edith didn’t account for the god blood in my system; it should have lasted longer.”  
Chris bursts through the door. He jogs over to us.  
“Say your farewells; Ares is on his way,” he tells us.  
Diana hugs Aelix with her one free arm. She gives me a hug, holding me slightly longer than Aelix. Before I can say anything, I am swallowed up by yellow smoke.

Chris didn’t come back with us. I don’t know why, but it’s a good thing he didn’t. Aelix and I end up inside the Big House, sitting on Kacey’s couch. She looks at us with awe. Before she can ask us anything, we explain what happened; about Chris, Diana and the many torture she’s endured, about the procedure, swearing on the Styx. Kacey listens intently.  
“What should we do?” the centaur inquires.  
“Start the potion as soon as our friends return from Greece,” Aelix suggests.  
“How? We don’t have all of the ingredients!” Kacey points out. Aelix smiles coyly.  
“Well, we have the Temple dirt coming, we can get some of Jeff’s blood, and we have Diana’s,” he tells us. Aelix produces a syringe filled with a red-gold substance. Kacey and I’s jaws drop.  
“You sneaky son of Phobos,” I remark.  
“I got it while you were distracting her by explaining what everyone is doing to help.”  
“Now that we have her blood, let’s go extract some of Jeff’s and get Ginnifer,” Kacey proudly says. “We have a potion to make.”

Diana’s POV  
For some reason, I do not cry when Eva and Aelix disappear. I look at Chris without any light in my eyes and then realize he is setting Edith’s body down on the ground where Ryan’s was. There are no life signs coming from Edith.  
“Chris?!” Ares bellows. Chris looks down at Edith’s body, up at me, and then at Ares. Ares notices Edith and looks puzzled.  
“What the hell happened to my best medic?”  
“After she was done stitching up Diana, Edith climbed on top of her, just like Ryan did…” Chris lies. Ares angrily screams. He sends Chris out of the room to do a task that I can’t hear. We wait in silence for his return.  
A few minutes later, Chris enters along with goons carrying various bodies. Ares orders the goons to bring them close enough to me that I can recognize the faces. I gasp.  
All of my brothers except Martin and the real Ugene are unconscious before my eyes. Ares counts down from three; I scream upon realization of what’s happening.  
“NO!”  
Their blood splats on me as they all are decapitated. I notice Chris didn’t have a brother of mine to kill. The voices hit me like a brick wall; my vision blurs and my head aches. Ares laughs somewhere in the distance. My vision returns.  
All of my dead brothers are standing before me. They all begin to insult me, pointing out my insecurities, reminding me about all the things I fail at. I don’t know how long this goes on for.


	5. Rise and Fall

Marie’s POV  
Sandra and I scour the busy streets of Paris, the city of love. We take a bunch of selfies, eat french food, and while Sandra was using the bathroom, I helped a young woman propose to her girlfriend. It was probably the most cheesy way to propose in Paris; on top of the eiffel tower with romantic music in the background. I may have used a lot of charmspeak on the musicians, but it was totally worth it. I know I was not supposed to meddle in anyone’s life, but duty calls. I don’t know how she got lucky with randomly running up to me in a panicked fury. Sandra approves of my meddling, but only because I chose a good band and there were no negative consequences. Sandra and I thankfully do not come across and monsters throughout our journey.  
Joselyn is awake by the time we return to the hotel, late at night. She is fueling up with macaroons and water. Justin informs me that they were thinking of doing one more jump before going to bed. We agree. Joselyn grabs our hands and the wondrous Paris disappears.  
It is dark outside where we land. The place we land is just outside a major city in which we can see from our spot. Joselyn passes out again so Sandra decides to carry her. As we walk, I notice signs in another language. I recognize it as Greek. The wildlife around us is dark and spooky. If it were daytime it probably would look luscious and beautiful. We walk alongside the road that barely any cars drive on during our trek. Luckily some kind man stops and asks us if we want a ride. Justin translates for us and tells him to drop Sandra and Joselyn off at the nearest hotel. The man questions why Joselyn is passed out; Justin lies, telling him that she got too tipsy, hence why we need to bring her to a hotel. Sandra and I sit in the back with Joselyn while Justin sits up front with the man. The driver talks to Justin in Greek for most of the ride.  
He parks in a parking lot outside a large fancy-looking building. Justin tells Sandra to take Joselyn and check in. He tells us that he and I will be going to a different hotel, as to not attract monsters. Sandra reluctantly leaves the car. The man continues driving. I watch as Sandra and Joselyn’s forms shrink the farther we go. Justin tells me that, according to our driver, the Temple of Hera is nearby. The recipe doesn’t specify which temple dirt. Justin tells me that he told the driver we just met Joselyn and Sandra today at the bar which is why we are going to a different hotel; I approve of this lie. Soon the driver pulls up to a cute little hotel, smaller yet just as luxurious as the one we dropped Sandra and Joselyn off at. We thank him and exit the car. Justin leaves some money on the seat as a way of repaying him.  
The front desk manager gives us a weird look when we ask for separate rooms. Justin does all the talking and also texts Sandra translations for stuff. E get our keys and head up to our rooms.  
Upon entering my room, I immediately lock the door, go into the bathroom, and run a bath of hot water. I enjoy the warmth on my skin and allow the built-up tension to release from my body.  
“Almost there,” I say out loud.  
I think about Diana and how much torture she must be going through right now. I think about the separation spell. It’s not going to help us find her, but we will be able to harm Jeff without it harming Diana. Then we can get info out of Jeff. However, if I could just remember my time spent within Ares’ ranks, we could know when to strike and how to save Diana. I wonder if I could somehow charmspeak myself.  
I look at my reflection in the water’s surface. The image is a little distorted but I can look into my own eyes. I focus on my reflection.  
“Remember,” I forcefully say.  
Nothing.  
“Remember!” I say, more forceful, more angry.  
Nothing. I groan and lean back in the bath, closing my eyes.  
Ella and her mother pops up. The image of my father driving me to this quaint neighborhood emerges in my mind. I was ten years old and content with my home situation, for the most part. One day Dad told me to pack my things and not to ask questions. I obeyed his request, up until we entered a new state. I started questioning what was going on, where we were headed, why he wasn’t telling me anything. Dad just told me it was for the best. We came to the Dolton house and a man, who I know was Ares, signed papers with Dad. Then I was whisked into the house and watched as Area and Dad drove away after we were done unpacking my things. I screamed and cried and tried to run after the car, but I didn’t make it far. Ella and Mrs. Dolton helped console me. Eventually I got over the feeling of loss and betrayal. I started training for Area’ army.  
I arrived at the Dolton house already knowing I was a demigod; Dad had been helping me train to fight off monsters that may find us. With Ares, I learned about torture and war tactics when I returned from mortal school. I never liked his lessons.  
Ares’ minions taught me how to use my charmspeak. I become one of his best. One day I was told that my neighbors would soon get a new recruit. Ella and Cassidy were in-the-know about who Diana was. The night before her arrival, Ella explained to me Ares’ plan and that we are to befriend her and then break her. I really didn’t like it. All of my training was to go towards destroying her and the world? I made it my mission to help her without getting caught, to play double-agent.  
Ares said that the preparation spell and the hosting spell were complicated this time around because of Kronos’ first defeat. This time, the host needed to be something more than a demigod but less than an actual god. The host’s soul must not want to live or inhabit the body anymore. The host must be morally sound. There must be ten demigod sacrifices. For the deity to actually host the body, a bunch of symbols will be drawn, each with a different meaning. Ares will say an incantation. Preferably done during a solstice, next preference being during a full moon however it can be done any day.  
I jolt to a sitting position. I did it; I remembered! I dry off and get dressed.  
Justin is annoyed when I knock on his door but quickly gets over it when i inform him that I remember. We call Joselyn and Sandra; they have a similar reaction. I explain how I remembered.  
“When you’re so powerful you can charmspeak yourself,” Justin comments.  
“That’s so cool!” Joselyn exclaims.  
I go on to explain the different spells. We decide to call Kacey after so I can explain it to her.  
“The solstice isn’t for another two-ish months. But there is a full moon in, like, a little over two weeks,” Sandra figures out aloud.  
“We better hope Ammon and |Cole have found the address for the barn, and that Eva, Aelix, and Ginnifer are ready for the potion. We need to get Diana out of there as soon as possible!” I reply. We all decide to wake up at eight in the morning in order to get back to Camp Halfblood by the time Cole and Ammon should have the address. We hang up the phone. Justin looks at me curiously; he asks how I managed to charmspeak myself. I shrug, truthfully telling him that I have no clue how I managed to do that. He asks what exactly I remember. I inform him that I don’t feel comfortable disclosing everything, but will tell the important information. I suggest that we should get some sleep; perhaps it will help with the memory retrieval. He nods and we go our separate ways. For some reason, hotel beds seem extremely more comfy than a regular bed. I get to sleep quickly after my head hits the pillows.

I wake up to someone pounding on my door. I groggily roll out of bed, zombie-walking to the door. When I open it, Justin’s face greets mine. He tells me to get ready to leave and that Sandra’s on her way.  Joselyn isn’t coming for two reasons; she is a child of the Big Three, which may attract monsters or any other unwanted gods, since there will be three other demigods with her. She also needs to get her rest for our next jump. I shut the door on Justin and quickly change into some new clothes using my magic sketchbook. I realize my hair is down so I magic up a sock bun from the sketchbook as well. I put on a tiny bit of makeup and then go to meet Justin and Sandra.  
Justin comments that I could have just not done my hair and makeup. I roll my eyes at him.  
“I want to look fierce while slaying monsters,” I reply.  
“You don’t think we will have to fight any, right? We are just going to get dirt from the temple…” Sandra inquires. We enter the elevator. Justin hits the main floor button.  
“I highly doubt it,” he tells her.  
The desk man wishes us a good day as we leave. We get a cab to the closest temple and it takes us about ten minutes to get there. We pay the cabbie and exit.

(AN/Disclaimer: Not sure if the actual temple of Hera in Greece offers tours, or what it looks like. Everything I say about it is made up by me)

The temple is bustling with tourists. Taking pictures, going on tours, eating cheap and greasy greek food. We figure that in order to get inside the temple, we must go on a tour of the temple.  
We pay for tickets ten minutes later at one of the tour kiosks. As we wait for our group number to be called, a few of the staff ask if we want tickets for one of the shows; there’s one about the history of the temple, one about mythology, and one about the gods. They only feature the twelve main gods in the show. I comment in English to Sandra and Justin we should go and correct their interpretations of the gods. They chuckle.  
“Group 7,” a tour leader calls out in Greek. That’s us. Luckily our group has about thirty other people in it so it will be easy to sneak off. The leader begins by telling us his name and qualifications. I zone him out until we start actually moving. An older couple passes us a map of the temple. Most of the temple has toppled, deteriorated, or has been destroyed. I notice an old well nearby. The land is mostly cobblestone and grass, not much actual dirt. I bet if we could get down the well somehow…  
“And over here…” The tour guide’s voice interrupts my thoughts “Is a well that, according to legend, newlywed couples would drink out of together to show their devotion to their spouse to Hera. It is dried up  and has been filled with dirt from the excavation process that the temple underwent.”  
Sandra and Justin look at each other and then at me. We huddle up.  
“How do we get in there?” Sandra questions.  
“I could turn into an owl?” Justin suggests.  
“Don’t think owls are native to this area, and an owl flying directly into a well might be a cause for suspicion,” I point out. Justin agrees.  
“What if I fell down there?” I suggest. They immediately disagree. The group starts moving away slowly. Before my fellow demigods can do anything, I climb up onto the edge. No one bats an eye. I peer down to see how shallow it is. The well is just shallow enough that I can see the bottom. I’d survive the fall. I pretend to fall, screaming on the way down. I turn in the air so I will land feet-first, absorbing the impact by bending my knees.I curse when I hit the ground, a SNAP! Coming from my ankle. Luckily the dirt is the soft but firm kind.Is this the right dirt though? I wonder to myself. Justin and Sandra rush to the well’s opening, calling my name. I yell up an “I’m fine”; Sandra informs me that the employees are getting a rescue person. When no one's looking, she throws me down a container and a baggie with ambrosia squares. I stuff one in my mouth as soon as I am in possession of it. I pray for a sign that this is the right amount and the right kind of dirt. A woman calls down to me in Greek. I look up, to see a ladder thrown down. A female descends the rope ladder. She notices the forming bruises on my ankle, a consequence from the fall. She approaches to help me stand, when suddenly a yellow light shines from her eyes.  
“Marie Thompson?” a deep, ethereal voice asks. I nod. “It is Hecate. I don’t have much time but I am here to tell you that this dirt will suffice and filling the container will suffice. I Hate what he is doing to Diana Summers… She was supposed to be one of mine. I gave her gifts, and Ares is inhibiting and twisting her powers… Anywho, I got to go. Technically I’m not supposed to intervene. Tell Ginnifer I am so proud”  
The light snaps off suddenly. The lady seems to have no recognition of hosting a god. I quickly scoop up dirt and tell her it’s a souvenir. She rolls her eyes and helps me up. She holds onto me as she mounts the ladder, and I hold onto her. People clap in relief when we emerge from the well; everyone claps except Sandra and Justin. Justin rushes over to help us out and then helps me walk over to Sandra. I hand her the container of dirt and leftover ambrosia which she then places in her bag. Justin hails a cab and we head back to Sandra and Joselyn’s hotel.

We tell joselyn everything that happened; I tell them about Hecate’s visit. We then call Kacey to let her know of our success. She congratulates us and requests we return quickly as we can. We hear her call for someone to fetch Eva, Aelix, Ginnifer, Ajax, Cole, Ammon and Clovis as we hang up the phone. We all collect our things and decide to check out.  
Sandra and Joselyn go to check out, Justin and I wait in the lobby. A bellhop approaches us just as Justin was going to say something.  
“Did you enjoy your stay demigods?” he asks.  
“Yes we-!” I cheerily reply but realize mid-sentence that he addressed us as demigods. “-did…”  
Two more bellhops join him, brandishing swords.  
“Once we tell Ares that you figured out a cure, you shall be dead,” the first bellhop snickers. I get out my makeup bag; the bellhops laugh.  
“What? Want to look hashtag on-point when you die?” One of them mocks. I smirk. The dagger disguised as mascara sinks deep into the bellhop’s throat. He falls backward, hi body twitching as blood starts gushing out. Justin gets out his spear. The other two charge forward with intense fervor. I dodge the first attack, but don’t see the second one coming. The bellhop knocks me to the ground. He tries to stab me however I roll away from his sword. I get in a few good blocks; he gets in a few good kicks and punches. I see an opening and I take it; I punch the guy in the nose, hear a crack, and he tumbles back. He comes back on to me. Eventually I am able to get him off of me and knock him out. I look to see that Sandra and Joselyn have received some bruises and scrapes. An arrow is protruding from the kneecap of Justin’s attacker causing Justin to get the advantage. He knocks out the bellhop. We regroup. Sandra hands out ambrosia for the injuries acquired during the fight. Joselyn received the worst wound. One of the bellhops managed to stab her in the shoulder. Sandra bandages it up and says her siblings will treat it better once we return to camp. Unfortunately, the fight and wound took a toll of Joselyn and Sandra tells her not to shadow-travel. Honestly it’s a wonder she’s still conscious. Justin offers to bring us back by turning into an owl and we decide that would be best.  
I have to admit, climbing on his back is weirder than I thought. I am sitting in the front, Joselyn’s sitting in the middle, with Sandra in the back. Sandra helps Joselyn with her fear of heights.  
It takes a while to get back to Camp. I don’t mind; the sights on the way are miraculous. Watching the land pas underneath us is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I cherish the beauty, letting all the stress and sadness go away for a while.

Upon arriving back at camp, Justin heads to the Big House to tell Kacey we have arrived. Sandra and Joselyn head immediately to the infirmary. I elect it upon myself to deliver the dirt. I find Aelix, Ammon, Eva, and Ginnifer in Jeff’s room. Jeff is still passed out. Ginnifer is reading a book. Aelix is staring intensely at the vials of blood necessary for the potion. I notice there are three now; one labelled Diana, one labelled Jeff, one labelled Dionysus. Eva and Ammon are talking quietly in the corner. They all look at me when I enter. I produce the jar of dirt, emitting a sigh of relief from them. Aelix straight-up gives me a bear hug. When he puts me down, there are two things in his eyes: tears and hope. I sense a feeling of maturity that’s grown in him since Diana’s capture. He isn’t exactly obsessive anymore, not in the bad way. Kacey and Justin arrive. Shortly after, Sandra and a newly-stitched-up Joselyn join.  
“So who needs to take the potion? Do we need to retrieve Diana first?” Kacey asks.  
“Actually, we just need to feed it to Jeff, since we have Diana’s blood.” Ginnifer excitedly says. A few of us have tears in our eyes.  
“Anything on the barn?” I ask, remembering that Ammon and Cole were on that. Ammon produces a paper.  
“I’ve got the address,” he says quietly.  
“The only downside is that we have to wait at least a week for it to be ready. Could be longer,” Ginnifer informs us.  
“We should get everyone to train,” Aelix suggests. We all agree. Sandra prohibits Joselyn from training until she gets her strength back.  
“Hey Marie,” Kacey says. I look to him. “You, Aelix, Eva, and Ammon are in charge of training.”  
Great, I think, another distraction.

Diana’s POV  
It’s been a long time since I saw my brother’s beheaded. I don’t ask Chris what day it is when I regain consciousness and function like I normally do, mostly because I can’t speak. Chris immediately starts apologizing for the display, but Ares’ plan is still going on and he can’t do anything. I don’t say a word; I just stare at my brothers. Ares has taken the time to mount each and every of their heads on spears, all thirty of them, in a circle around me. Their eyes have been sewn shut. I scream at the sight and cry. Their forms in my head stand next to their decapitated limb, telling me how it’s my fault they ended up like this. How if I was strong enough, I would be able to magic my way out of this. How my friends don’t care that I’m here because they realized I am worthless.  
Chris’ voice cracks when he informs me he would comfort me but he can’t let me out of the restraint system. I let it all out; all of my sadness, my rage, my heartache. Ares has the audacity to enter and try to talk to me. I don’t let him get out a word. The sadness and heartache melt away as the rage takes over.  
“Listen you asshole. You will pay for this. I don’t know why you decided to showcase my brother’s deaths in this way, but it is disrespectful. Not that I took you for the respectful sort, but you are the freaking god of War. You should have some respect for the dead. And to kill them without any sort of fight? That is just plain unhonorable. Anyway, if you think this is going to break me, it has only made my want to defeat you stronger. I can’t wait to wipe off that smug little look off your face when I defeat you!” I spit at him. Ares regards me with shock at first; it’s the most I’ve said and the boldest I’ve been my whole stay. He marches up to me at the end. The god of war shakes my wrists, reminding me of my restraints.  
“You are all tied up. Your friends are not coming for you. I will win and the world will belong to Kronos. There is literally nothing you can do to get out of here,” He snarls at me.  
“I may be tied up, but that doesn’t mean the battle is over. You have been preparing me for Kronos, but who’s to say I won’t defeat him while he is inside me?” I counter.  
“Who says your soul will still want to be in your disgusting little body?” He refutes.  
“I do,” I firmly tell him. He smirks and backs away.  
“Yeah, we will see about that…” He calls as he exits. An Apollo kid enters as Ares exits. Despite the voices constantly yelling and talking in my head, I am able to think clearly. I am still running on the vertigo of standing up to Ares. Which is why I talk to Nora, the Apollo kid, when she comes to give me my daily poison. Nora replaced Edith after she died. As she sets up the IV, which they literally take out so that they can put it in again to freak me out, I tell her how she is a disgrace to the Apollo kid lineage. She regards me with a cold stare. I yell in pain when she tries to put it in.  
“Oops, couldn’t find the vein,” she dismisses.  
Bullshit. She’s used to putting that in and I am so pale that finding a vein is easy. She tries six more times, each one hitting muscle, not vein, and stinging. I scream the whole time; Chris looks like he is trying not to cry or scream.  
“Nora, just put the freaking IV in,” he says.  
“I’ll have to try the other arm. Doesn’t seem to be working,” She emotionlessly says. Chris magic’s up a bandage and wraps my bleeding arm. I gasp in pain at his hands on my arm, the holes stinging and throbbing. Not to mention bleeding.  
“Listen Nora, since I had a blood transfusion back at Camp, and you guys literally have caused me to bleed many times, shouldn’t I not be eligible for the hosting Kronos gig? My blood isn’t mostly ichor anymore!”  
Nora, in response to my recent development, produces a bag of golden substance.  
“Dionysus ichor. We have been pumping this into you whenever you are passed out.”  
Nora stabs the IV into me. I yelp in pain. Nora then goes over to the control panel for the restraint system. She makes it so I am laying down. The child of Apollo gets Chris to help her check the stab wound. I feel myself sinking into a panic attack. It is partially from not being able to control what I want to do with my body, and partially because they are going to check out the stab wound. Luckily it comes and goes quickly this time. Nora comments that it is healing nicely, and orders Chris to pour some alcohol on it. He asks why, to which Nora replies that it may help me heal. She comes up to where my head is, her red eyes gleaming with tears.  
“I know I am a disgrace,” her voice trembles. I feel bad. Edith was doing it because she is a bitch; Nora is under Ares’ mind control. I should not be mad at her because she can not control whether or not she carries out Ares’ orders. I tell Nora I understand and forgive her for what she has done; quite frankly, she hasn’t done much and hasn’t been around long enough to do much. Nora nods. Chris and Nora both get called by Ares to go get food for themselves. They both leave me alone with my thoughts and the heads of my brothers.  
This is all your fault, you know. Derrek tells me. His head is straight in front. Pablo joins in.  
We wouldn’t be dead, had it been for you! He tells me.  
The others join in, screaming insults at me. I don’t know how long they go on, but Nora and Chris come and go. They try talking to me but my brothers are louder. Angrier. They hate me for what was done to them.  
Days go by with them constantly putting me down in my head. I become unresponsive to Chris, so he tells Ares that I am now catatonic. I don’t answer to my name nor do I react to their tortures. I have turned into such a shell of a human being that Ares discusses plans and such in front of me now. He plans on not waiting until the solstice to perform the hosting ritual.  
My brothers taunt me, telling me that my friends should have been here by now. If they loved me and cared about me, they would be here right now. That they would rather I die. The first few hours of their taunts, I had a firm disbelief in what they were saying. Now, however, I believe them. It’s been months. They are done rescuing me.  
As if my brothers’ constantly tearing me down was enough, when I am sleeping I am plagued by nightmares. They usually consist of my friends dying slow and painful deaths, Kronos taking over the world, or are tales the non-fiction past of torture I had to live through. It isn’t until my aunt/mother appears that I truly break.  
The guards that were stationed when I finally speak for the first time in days decide that this new development is worthwhile to fetch Lord Ares. Chris, Ares, and a few high-ranking guards come barreling in at the news. A few tears slip out of my eyes however something brings me to hold my tongue. I was going to repeat what I had said to the guards, ‘Kill me’, but something stops me. Ares roars in anger when I shake my head at him. He jostles me, yelling at me to speak, and pushes away from me. Chris comes to my side with water to moisturize my throat. He offers to Ares that I might speak after a refreshing drink. It feels nice to have something for my digestive system to, well, digest. I look Ares straight in the eyes.  
“I’ve said it to you once, and I’ll say it again. YOU CAN’T BREAK ME.”  
My brothers and mother yell at me about how I’m lying through my teeth, how I am broken. Ares punches me across the face.  
When I wake up, I am not restrained anymore. I am not in the same room anymore. The room is quite small and vacant other than myself. There are three brick and stone walls, the fourth wall consisting of a fibreglass window. I try to use my powers, but realize that even though I am not handcuffed, I still have bracelets on that restrict my magic use. I sigh. I go over to the window to see what my view is. The door is best described as a trapped door, as the only entrance/exit to and from the room is in the ceiling. My view is of another room, much larger than my current location. The room has more of a cobblestone-dungeon feel to it. Ares is in the room, looking up at me. He smiles maliciously when he realizes that I am looking down at him.  
“Ah, Diana. You are awake I see.”  
I just look at him and cross my arms expectantly.  
“Guess who we caught trying to sneak in?”  
Oh! This should be exciting! Pablo says.  
He even gave you a nice view! Andrew comments.  
A few of Ares’ goons march in with… I gasp and scream. I watch in terror as my friends- bound, beaten, chained, and gagged- enter the dungeon.  
“No.. no no nonononononoNO!” I scream. I pound against the glass, crying and screaming. I watch through my tears as Ares grabs an emotionless, non-resistant Evaline. I can’t get myself to walk away from the glass as he administers death by a thousand cuts, her throat being the last. I cry out profanities at him, unable to use my magic to save them, unable to fight him, no matter how hard I try. My head is too jumbled up to think of any spells or focus my magic correctly, if I could even use my magic with the bracelets on. I watch as Joselyn, Sandra, Marie, Kacey, Ginnifer, Aelix, Justin, Ammon, Cole, Ajax, and Mitchell all suffer similar fates. A few of them have their gags removed and yell at me that their death is my fault. I believe them. They wouldn’t have died if they didn’t know me. I honestly should have died when I had the chance. Ares gets Chris and a few other goons to clean up. I find that I can do a little magic. My skin burns as the new cuts open and bleed on my thighs. I sink to the ground, my tears falling and mixing with the blood. One by one, my friends appear in the room. They join my brothers, telling me about how worthless and stupid I am. How Kronos deserves the body more than I do.  
“We are dead because of you,” My friends tell me.  
“Your friends died in cold blood because of you,” my brothers and mother tells me.  
“I know…” I sob back. I curl into a ball of defeat. Chris enters the room, gasping at the red-golden blood on my legs and the floor. He attempts to speak to me, but I either fight him off or the voices drown him out. I don’t react when he administers a sedative; what’s the point? I don’t care what they do to me now.

Eva’s POV  
We train for two weeks. With each day after the one-week-mark, we grow more agitated, more anxious. Joselyn is able to join us eight days after she returned from the trip to Greece. The Apollo kids who specialize in the healing part of their powers prep the infirmary for the battle. Sandra trains with us, because she is better at the music side, and can use the healing on Diana during the battle. We have all-hands-on-deck for training; it helps with our nerves. It helps us keep our minds off of the fact that Diana is getting tortured constantly. According to Clovis, Ares somehow gave Diana a memory of the War God killing all of us, which she has nightmares about. We are unsure if Ares altered the Mist to make innocent strangers appear as us to Diana and then killed them, or if it is one hundred percent created by magic. Either way, Diana’s nightmares mostly consist of that or her mother emotionally abusing her before Diana came to Camp Halfblood. Clovis has offered that if we really wanted to, we could view her nightmares as she sleeps, however I think Aelix is the only one to take him up on that offer. There’s one day when we found Aelix crying on the beach; he told us that Diana had a new nightmare where he physically abused her.  
I am in the arena when the potion is ready. Myself, along with a large portion of the teenage population of Camp Halfblood is in here training with me. I had to lead the class today. We started with one-on-one sword sparring and are now doing freestyle sparring. Since I am near the door, I am one of the first to notice Ginnifer enter. I get everyone’s attention with a loud whistle. All eyes are one Ginnifer.  
“It worked!” She yells triumphantly. We all cheer; as a humongous group, we stampede to find Kacey. She decides that since it is currently one o’clock, we should leave immediately for the barn.  
An hour later, we have everyone who is going to rescue Diana- which consists of all demigods sixteen and older- armoured up and ready to go. Our friend group is all in one car, with Aelix driving.  
“Hold on Diana, we are coming,” Aelix says. He starts the car.


	6. Falling Deeply

Eva’s POV  
Everything started off fine.  
All of the demigods who were meant to come with us were packed up and ready to go within the hour. We all ate, said our goodbyes, and efficiently loaded into the buses and vans we were taking to travel to the barn. Every single car reported to ours that they did not have any stow-aways. After Diana’s little stow-away adventure, we made it part of the vehicle check to search for them. Aelix is the first driver, the lead van, to depart from Camp Halfblood. Since the ride is approximately two hours long, most of our friend group decides to sleep. I sit in the front with Aelix, as I am the only one who wishes to stay awake. We sit in silence for most of the trip; Aelix seems to be void of all emotions, except his eyes reveal the anxiousness he is trying to hide. I offer to listen if he wants to talk about anything. He declines the first offer, however caves about an hour into the journey.  
While on a highway, he admits that he is insanely worried for his girlfriend. He has witnessed the nightmares and could feel how scared of him Diana was in those nightmares. He wonders if we will make it in time, how much Ares has damaged Diana’s mental health, and about her physical health. I assure him that I have the same worries, but that I believe she is strong and we can help her heal. I point out that every single person in this van is going to be one hundred percent into trying to help Diana heal and that we will not give up.  
We stop for gas soon after Aelix and I fall back into our comfortable silence. Aelix is able to survive paying for the gas; no monsters attack, and Aelix manages to accommodate to his dyslexia. The guy at the counter gives him an empathetic smile when Aelix asks for him to help with counting out the bills and change. Aelix leaves five dollars in the tip jar. When he returns to the car, I let him know that he is doing good. He exhales quickly through his nose and starts the van up again without another word. The other vans started radioing to remind everyone that we will be parking along different roads surrounding the property, and come at them from every angle. Cole and Ammon had already planned and debriefed us on where to park before we left. Our van is to park at the bottom of the driveway and attack the front yard. Luckily, Ares chose a remote abandoned barn in an open space. This gives us both an advantage and a disadvantage; we will be able to see the enemy however the enemy will also be able to see us coming. Since we know that Diana is in the barn, and not the house, we will be focusing our forces on the barn. The rules are that we must get Diana out of there, try to kill the least amount of people as possible, and save Martin. Aelix was the one to remind us that not only Martin, but all of Diana’s brothers are to be saved if possible. They can help her heal from the tortures and possible post-traumatic stress disorder she will be experiencing.  
My phone buzzing brings me out of my thoughts and alerts of an incoming text from Percy. It reads:  
Hey lil sis! Remember that I love you and we will be coming from the other side, so we will help you out in the barn the best we can. Stay strong, fight good.  
I smile at my phone. Since we will not be arriving at the barn for another hour, I put my head against the window. My thoughts wander around, thankfully not staying on the thought of Diana being dead, or worse. I think instead about different activities we can do to help her get back to a healthy state of mind, and how we will commence training with her. She is probably going to be weak and starving. She will need a lot of support from her friends and family. Martin will definitely be on board with helping out. I wonder what the real Ugene is like… Hopefully he is a kind demigod, not at all like the Jeff-Ugene. Diana will also have to get cleared by Mitchell and whoever is in charge of the infirmary before she can even join us in training.  
“Eva?” Aelix says, pulling me to the present. I look at him. “We’re here.”  
Aelix and I wake up all of our troops. We have to wait until we receive the signal that everyone is in position. I look out the window, since I am on the side facing the property.  
The barn looks like a normal abandoned barn. It is a deep red color, however it obviously used to be darker telling by the streaks in the peeling paint. The peeling paint is noticeable from the distance we are and there is a rusted rooster on top. The barn and its adjacent house are located on the top of the hill surrounded by a field of, what used to be, strawberries, watermelon, and various other fruits and vegetables. The fields have reminisce of the plants; withered, crumbly, dry reminisce. It shouldn’t be a challenge getting to the barn. There is a house nearby; it is in a similar state to the barn. Aelix and I know she is in the barn, however we believe her brothers Martin, Ugene, the rest of them, and her mother are being kept in there. The house itself looks like it once was home to a cute little farming family. It gives off a family feeling, drastically different from the feeling Ares gives us.  
“Look, there are sentries,” Ajax points out.  
“Hey Ajax?” Cole says. Ajax replies to his name.  
“You have super speed as a son of Nike, right?” Cole asks. We all look at him, remembering that we ARE demigods who do indeed have powers. Sometimes we forget that we have powers. Aelix radio’s to the other cars that we are thinking up a new plan of attack.  
“I could conjure some skeletons with my brother?” Joselyn offers.  
“I could channel my healing energy to keep her going?” Sandra inputs.  
“Yes… Very good,” Aelix says. “Ajax, I don’t know how your speed could come in handy… It definitely will, I just don’t know how yet…”  
“Ammon, you want to turn invisible?” Cole says.  
Ammon nods. Cole perks up, wiggling with excitement. Aelix gestures to him; Cole gets a mischievous look about him.  
“Can I burn the barn down? After we rescue Grapegirl, of course,” he asks. Aelix chuckles at him but gives him permission.  
Aelix could probably impose people’s fears onto them, rendering them incapable of fighting, I think. Marie could charmspeak her way in, or she could charmspeak Diana if needed. Especially if Diana is not one hundred percent herself. Justin could help with fighting, and with escaping if needed. Ginnifer is going to help by fighting with her magic. Cole and I could mostly be used for fighting aspect. Kacey shall fight as well. I voice all of this and everyone agrees. We decide Ajax is to go check out the house, since it will not be as guarded. Aelix radio’s what different house roles should be to the other cars.   
The fighting is when things fell to Hades.  
We send out the signal to start our attack. Everyone unsheathes their weapons, readies them, and we all pile out of the van. The sentries Ajax previously pointed out spot us right away. They swarm out of the barn and house, and we begin to realize that we underestimated the amount of demigods stolen and mind-controlled. Ares’ army outnumbers us three-to-one. Sandra and Joselyn, along with two Apollo kids who join us, head to the back of our group. The two Apollo kids are to help power Joselyn up so she can hold on to the skeleton army for as long as possible. Ginnifer casts the first spell; it isn’t powerful enough to knock out the army, or really do much damage. Green smoke starts curling up people’s bodies and they fall unconscious. Ares’ army attacks. Two people come at me. One shouts at me in a language I don’t know. As the two are fighting with me, both using swords, a green mist swoops over them. They do not lose consciousness, but their speech is translated. I realize they are both speaking the same language, and are telling each other what to do. By paying attention to this, I am able to disarm one of them, knocking the same person out. The other attacks after seeing her friend taken down. She swings at me with her sword, I block it. She pushes against my sword and I push back as to not get decapitated.  
“How did you do that?” she mutters.  
“What language are you speaking?” I ask, hoping that Ginnifer’s language magic is a two-way deal. Thankfully, it is. She replies that she is speaking French. I am able to push her away; she falls down, rolls on her back, over her shoulder, and to a standing position. She appears to be a bit dizzy, so I take this chance to try to disarm her. She recovers quickly upon my attack, unfortunately able to prevent me from disarming her. We spar, trying to jab at each other. Her attacks get increasingly aggressive. I try to match her energy. She gets in a few good blows; I get in a few. After a while of going back and forth like this, each of us not actually hurting one another, I am able to disarm her. I point my sword at her throat whilst straddling her.  
“Are you from New Jersey?” I ask breathlessly.  
“No… I am French. From France. May our great Lord Ares win,” she spits at me. It is now I realize two things: The reason the army is large is because the demigods are not only from America, but are from all over the world, and they are all mind controlled. Meaning they are only attacking because Ares wants them to. They may be inside of their own bodies, fighting for a way out. I begin to wonder how they all got caught up in this huge mess. My mind goes back to when Aelix and I were in the barn, specifically to the people floating in the tanks with the weird red tinted substance. Were they Americans? Or were they from all around the world too? Do they change?  
My thoughts are interrupted by another person attacking me. This person has Camp Jupiter clothing on. He attacks with two normal daggers. Upon his approach, he launches one of them at me. I dodge it successfully, feeling the might of the throw as the blade whooshes past my arm. He continues his pursuit. I recover quickly and block his first blow. He tries punching me but I block it. He grabs the wrist that blocked his punch and before I know it, I have been flipped onto the ground, with my attacker on top of me. He holds my sword arm down and has his blade at my throat. His red eyes pierce me.  
“Lord Mars wants you alive… but I can’t help wanting to slit your throat right now…”  
“Get off of her,” a very commanding female voice says. The guy gets off, revealing Marie to be standing behind him. She collides her dagger against his head which causes him to pass out.  
“Thanks,” I breathe.  
“No problem,” she says.  
Marie runs off to fight some more of Ares’ army. I notice that our troupe is trying not to kill anyone; we are knocking out everyone we can. I run closer to the barn, fighting, causing minor injuries that won’t kill them, just slow them down. I manage to get pretty close to the barn before getting into a real fight. Five armor clad mind controlled goons block my way to the door.  
Suddenly a body bumps into me.  
“Hey Eva!” Joselyn cheerily says, slightly winded.  
“Joselyn?!” I say, confused and relieved.  
“Five on two?” Joselyn comments. “Let’s get ‘em”  
Joselyn and I attack simultaneously, falling into step with each other. I fight off two of the demigods. One of them has daggers, the other has a longsword. Luckily, the longsword person tries to cut me in half by the stomach and I dodge it, causing them to actually stab the one with the daggers. I swipe my feet and the longsword falls over. I tackle them to the ground and punch them in the face until they are knocked out. When I look up to check on Joselyn, she has two passed out, and one girl tackled to the ground with her whip wrapped around their body. She taps on the girl’s head with her finger and the girl’s body goes limp. I ask Joselyn what she did; she apparently can force people to sleep, but it takes a lot out of her. This power just came to her today when she was fighting off a warrior.  
“At least if Diana needs any medical shit done, no more needles?” Joselyn comments.  
“Or if we need to knock her out now?” I suggest. Joselyn nods.  
“That too.”  
She gets a horrid look on her face.  
“EVALINE WATCH-”  
I feel a pain erupt in my shoulder. I collapse to ground in pain, grabbing my afflicted shoulder. Lucky for me, Sandra runs up just as Joselyn is examining.  
“Whoever shot this arrow has terrible aim,” Joselyn says. “THANKFULLY they have terrible aim,” she adds. Joselyn helps me stand up, and we head over to the shadow of the barn. Joselyn grabs a hold of me; the world goes dark for a moment before dissolving back together. We are now at the medic station, located in a school bus we brought.  
The school bus looks quite new from the outside, however on the inside we have made a lot of adjustments. We tinted the windows so that we could have some privacy. Most of the seats were taken out while the remaining ones were reshaped into a medical bed-type look. There are about eight of them. We added in a few chairs, and some tables and compartment drawers to hold medical supplies. We have one specifically for ambrosia and nectar. It also holds food that will help keep people going.  
Thomas immediately gives Josie an energy bar and a coffee upon our appearance in the bus. One of the Apollo kids starts working on my shoulder. After the nectar and ambrosia are finished, my shoulder just needs stitches before I can go back and fight. The stitches sting despite the numbing cream the child of Apollo used. Josie holds my hand and helps me via distraction method. She points out that Aelix is currently getting fed an energy bar. As soon as the bandage is placed onto my shoulder, I am cleared to go back into the fight. Joselyn and Sandra follow me out, Aelix joins us, and we shadow-travel to the barn.  
One quarter of the army is knocked out on the ground, while others are just… sitting on the ground?  
I look around to see what has caused this. They seem totally aware of what they are doing. None of the people on the ground are attacking anyone, even when we are right beside them. A few of the Hermes kids are drawing moustaches with permanent marker onto the soldiers yet they still don’t move. I turn to look at Joselyn and Sandra. Sandra points towards one of the frontlines, where there is one of our people standing off with five of the soldiers. I recognize the single person to be Marie. She looks at them nonchalantly, her breath level. One of the soldiers lunges at her; we are close enough to hear Marie’s voice.  
“Can you not?”  
The soldier immediately stops. Marie looks at the others.  
“You four, how about you take a break from fighting and just sit here? You really deserve a break,” Marie says with conviction. I realize she, along with her siblings, are stopping the army simply by charmspeaking them to stop fighting. Marie sees us after her assailants are sitting in a circle minding their own business. She jogs over. She explains that there are enough of our people fighting to overcome the enemy now and we should focus on extracting Diana. She says the boys and Ginnifer are currently trying to find a way into the barn; a window, an unlocked door, whatever they can find. Joselyn asks if anyone have tried the front door. Marie looks at us.  
“That’s our job.”  
As soon as she says this, a blurry figure zips through a big crowd of soldiers, resulting in the group to fall unconscious, and then does a few laps around the barn. Some laps are on the ground, the others are somehow in the air. The figure stops in front of our group. Ammon is being piggybacked by Ajax. That’s right, I think, Ajax is a son of Nike so he has super speed, and Ammon can fly as a son of Hermes. They stand in front of us.  
“No entrances are open, most are guarded with either soldiers or magic of some sort.” Ammon reports. I notice he has gone pale, however that’s not all that is different; his lips are dry, there are dark circles underneath his eyes, beads of sweat are all across his forehead. He breathes heavily. I tell him he needs to rest before he tries to help out any more. Ammon shrugs it off agreeably, and decides to go to the medical team. Sandra can’t heal him because she has to keep Joselyn going. Ajax tells us he recognizes one of the entrances is guarded by Chris and another soldier; it has the least amount of defenses. Chris will help us!  
I tell the group that’s the entrance we should try to go through, since Chris helped us. I don’t trust him one hundred percent, but it’s our best shot.   
“We will ask Chris; I mean, he let Eva and I go see Diana. Maybe he is on the good side? Maybe he knows what’s happ-” Aelix starts but is cut off.  
Joselyn screams, falling to the ground. We all take a step back, other than Sandra who kneels down next to Joselyn.  
“Death… So much death… I can feel it…” Joselyn mutters loud enough for us to hear.  
Sandra sings a quick tune that is apparently calming; Joselyn chills and gets to her feet. Wordlessly, Ajax leads us to where he saw Chris guarding an entrance.  
Chris is guarding a window that a person could fit through, along with a mind-controlled goon. His eyebrows raise when he sees us.  
“Eva?! Aelix?! You found Diana?!” Chris says.  
The goon calls us intruders and pulls out a bow and arrow. Chris snaps his fingers, causing a yellow smoke to swoosh past the goon’s face, and the goon falls asleep. He looks at us warily.  
“What’s up? Why are you not letting us in right away?” Aelix angrily demands.  
Chris’s magic envelopes the barn area below the window and it evaporates so we can walk through it. Chris moves out of the way.  
We enter from the side of the building, between the tanks. I am one of the last ones in. The barn hasn’t changed since Aelix and I were in here except for three things. The tanks being empty is the first thing. The second thing is that the chest has been moved. The third makes me realize something. My heart drops, my brain starting to throb. My throat goes dry. My breath struggles to enter and exit my lungs. The others have a similar reaction.  
“We are too late,” Aelix croaks.

Diana’s POV- Earlier  
I don’t know how long it’s been; I have stopped counting. The voices and people around me keep telling me how shit of a demigod I am. I believe them. They tell me how I couldn’t save Greg. I couldn’t save my brothers. I couldn’t save Eva. I couldn’t save Joselyn. I couldn’t save Sandra, or Marie, or Kacey. I couldn’t save Aelix. I couldn’t save Ammon, or Ajax, or Cole. I couldn’t save them, I couldn’t save them, I couldn’t save them, echos in my head by different voices for hours, possibly days on end. The only break I get is when Chris enters the barn. He delivers me food, solid food that I typically throw up upon consumption, to try to strengthen me up for hosting a god. It doesn’t make sense to me that they would want me to be malnourished and then fed. Chris ends up giving me protein shakes and multivitamins, then at some point toast. This time when he enters, he doesn’t just have food. He brings in a big box, levitating it with magic. I look at him perplexed. He dries the newest tears from my face, his yellow magic warm against my cold and clammy skin. I have gone catatonic, finding that I don’t have the strength or mental capacity to do anything but breathe and eat and listen to the voices yell things; he places the box at my feet. I drink the protein grossness and allow him to feed me the multivitamin. They took out the nutrition IV at some point. As I chew it, he opens up the box, making sure I am comprehending what he is saying and focusing on him.  
“Ares bought you an outfit for when Kronos is…” He struggles to find a word, making a defeated face when settling onto “-inside of you”  
I cringe internally at the thought. Chris looks for an outwardly reaction however I can’t give him one. He comes up close to my face, looking pleasantly surprised when my head and eyes follow him. He chuckles sadly.  
“Diana… I’ve been sworn not to tell you something on the river Styx… But I don’t want you to lose hope. You can fight this.”  
I just look at him; he has tears in his eyes. He opens the box with his magic. A dress floats out of it. It’s a deep purple and royal blue at the same time somehow. It’s a short prom dress-type get up. Above the belt of it is one hundred percent sparkles. From the top of the bust, it’s mesh with a solid fabric vine pattern at the top. I manage to smile a little causing Chris to let his hopeful tears be free. At least I will be going out in style. I furrow my brows at him. I can’t ask him when someone- I am hoping for Nora- will be dressing me. I know that Ares will probably want me in the dress when the battle is drawing near. Chris wipes his tears away. He touches my temple, a warmth spreading from where his finger is making contact with my skin. Suddenly my thoughts are displayed in front of Chris and I. I think to ask him when I am putting the dress on and who will do it. Chris answers that I get a choice for who will be putting the dress on me. I get to choose between people, two of the options being himself and Nora. Chris stops projecting my thoughts; he is shaking from the effort so the spell must be powerful. The dress has dropped back into its box. He goes over to the door of the barn, opens it, and walks back in with a line of mind-controlled demigods. Mostly female, mostly people I do not recognize. Nora is there. Chris requests me to roll my eyes and then blink. I do so; he looks relieved, telling me to blink three times if I do not want the demigod presented to help me get dressed right now, and to roll my eyes if I want their help. He asks me to roll my eyes if this will work for me and I roll my eyes. One by one, each person is presented to me. I choose Nora and a random daughter of Apollo. Chris boots out the other demigods and leaves himself.  
Nora undoes the restraints, keeping on the wristband that prevents me from using my magic or powers. The other daughter of Apollo, Amber, picks my limp body up. I am too weak to really fight her, however I have regained some of my strength. Amber helps me stand up while Nora takes off my shorts and tank top. Tears swell in my eyes as I feel vulnerable and exposed. Nora sadly looks at me.  
“I hate doing this. But I can’t control my actions, just my words. Diana, I am so so sorry that you have to go through this.”  
I look at her. Amber agrees with Nora. They manage to get the dress on without any struggle from me. Nora carries me over to the restraint system as Amber goes over to the box, which lays just outside the ring of my brother’s heads. As she carries me I notice something peculiar; Martin and Ugene’s heads are not there. This probably means they are still alive. If they are alive, I imagine they are either being tortured or mind controlled.  
Amber pulls out of the dress box a tinier box, this one made from cardboard as well. Nora opens it using a scalpel she brings to it from my table of torturing devices. Nora didn’t bother putting the restraints back on. She comes back over while Amber sets something up. Nora checks my heart and lungs, feels my legs and arms, and then looks in my mouth, ears, and nose. I admit, I felt weird during this part, despite it being like a normal human check up. Maybe what makes me feel weird is how, in this absurd torturous nightmare, they care about my health. The very thing they are deteriorating; they must not want it to go too far. I know that Chris has magically brushed my teeth, and has used magic to take off grime from my skin as a way to keep my hygiene in tact.  
Amber produces makeup. Nora runs out of the barn and returns with a mind controlled son of Aphrodite. I internally cringe. The guy takes the box of makeup away from Amber before approaching me. Nora and Amber do up the restraints.  
The son of Aphrodite asks them what I am capable of right now in the state that I am in. They inform him I can blink and roll my eyes, however I will not speak to anyone. Amber leaves after. Nora stays in case anything changes or happens to me.  
I close my eyes and power through the makeup. It’s not that I don’t like makeup. It’s the fact in order to host a god/titan I have to get dolled up, as well as the part where I have no say in what is happening. I feel the makeup being put on, but I don’t react to it.  
“Can she hear us?” The son of Aphrodite asks Nora. Nora sighs.  
“Sometimes I don’t know. I hope that she can. I know we are being forced to do things but she needs to know that we are trying our best to fight it. Well, those of us in the Strong Willed category.” Nora says.  
“Strong Willed category?” the guy questions.  
“Yeah. Those with enough will to say whatever we want, but our actions are controlled. We are too good of a person to be controlled one hundred percent. Like Chris. Then there are those who are Loyal Troops. That’s what Edith was. They don’t need mind control to be loyal to Ares, if you didn’t get that from the name. And then there are those who are Total Controlled. They have enough of a badness level that they are controlled, and a weak enough allegiance to Ares that he needs to be in total control.” Nora explains.  
“That makes sense. If Ares wanted this chick-”  
“Diana,” Nora interrupts, “Her name is Diana.”  
“Sorry; if Ares wanted Diana to host Kronos, why not mind control her?” he questions.  
“Because she needs to consent to the hosting.”  
There is silence as the son of Aphrodite finishes. I open my eyes; he is looking down at me with sadness, which turns into surprise and then relief. I probably startled him. He says that he thought I was asleep. Nora exits the barn after inspecting the work done to my face. The son of Aphrodite gets me to sit up. He asks if I could put in any more effort, then curses when he remembers I am unresponsive. He sits behind me.  
“I’d hate to do this, especially since you already don’t have much control but…” his voice changes.  
“Sit up,” he charmspeaks. I find myself obeying. He starts doing my hair. He tells me about how pretty my hair is- I roll my eyes even though he can’t see them- and that he is surprised how healthy it is with the living conditions I have had to go through.  
A few minutes go by. The son of Aphrodite, who I learn to be named Greyson, finishes my hair just in time for Nora to return with Ares. I begin to tremble a little at his presence, eliciting a shocked expression from Nora. Greyson charmspeaks me to not tremble. Ares enters the circle. He examines me in silence. Nora reads him her medical report. Ares looks satisfied.  
“Bring in Dionysus. If she is to host Kronos this afternoon, she needs more ichor. The mind controlled warriors have been prepared if Camp Halfblood has somehow found the location of this place.”  
My father is here? I think.  
Ares looks over me again.  
“Greyson, excellent work. I believe Kronos will be pleased.” Ares compliments.  
“Thanks, Lord Ares,” Greyson says. He exits. Greyson passes by Amber and Chris bringing in someone on a gurney. When they get closer I see that it is my father. For some reason, seeing him like this puts a rage in my stomach. I watch in horror as Dionysus looks upon me, then then to his sons’ heads on spears around me. He screams loudly at Ares.  
“YOU DICK!” He yells and then sobs. They put the gurney parallel to the restraint system. I turn my head to look at my father. I try to reach my hand out to him, surprised when my hand moves. Ares and Nora are surprised as well. Chris approaches me and gently pushes me to a laying position. He tells me I look beautiful, and that Aelix was lucky to have me. Nora sets up a transfusion system, hooking my father up to it first. Dionysus sobs and screams in pain, sorrow, and loss. Chris holds my hand; I feel magic seeping into my skin. He whispers to me that I shouldn’t feel a thing. I can’t feel my arm. Chris turns my head away from where Nora is hooking up the blood transfusion line. She comes to the other side of me to hook up where my normal blood will be filtered out. Apparently they are mixing my blood with ichor and then putting it back in. It freaks me out. Ares notices the change in me. Tears burn in my eyes.  
“Chris?” I whimper, finding my voice. It’s hoarse from not being used, yet still audible. Chris looks me in the eyes, tears in his eyes too.  
“Yes Diana?”  
I let the tears fall. I even manage to sit up, something I haven’t done by myself in a while. I look at him, then at Ares, then Nora, then back at Chris.  
“Please put me to sleep,” I weakly request. The son of Hecate looks pleadingly at Ares.  
“I grant you permission” Ares says. “ As a child this process was rough for her. I think we can let her have this one tiny break.” He says. Nora and Chris look at him, surprised.  
“Wait, by use of magic or a sedative?” Nora asks. Ares contemplates it.  
“I would prefer sedative, actually. The drinkable kind.” Ares requests. “Chris, I will allow you to go, er, comfort her.”  
Chris and Nora look at Ares, shocked.  
“As in, you can hold her so she doesn’t squirm, using your magic to make sure she behaves,” Ares corrects. Chris nods. He climbs up onto the restraint table. He asks if I will drink it willingly, and I nod. Nora stirs the solution. She hands it to Chris, who puts it to my lips.  
“Sweet dreams,” he whispers. I open my mouth to drink it; it tastes vile. I swallow it despite the want to spit it in Ares’ face. Chris rocks me as I lose consciousness. The last thing I see and feel is Chris holding out my arm, the line going in, and Chris’s face sadly smiling down at me. His red eyes shining.

I’m in woods. I don’t know where or why, but I’m in woods. They stretch out far and wide, too dark for me to see past a couple meters. I sit on a fallen tree. There’s noises coming from the dark areas. I sharply turn towards every noise, trying to figure out the source.  
“Hello? Who’s there?” I call.  
“Diana,” a voice says from behind me. I turn to find that I am facing Greg. He has a wicked smile on his face. His skin is pale, there is a huge line on his neck that looks rough and bruised, and two puncture wounds the size of a staple in his chest. His expression turns sour.  
“My sacrifice wasn’t worth it,” he spits at me. “Look at you; begging for death.”  
“I-” I whimper.  
“Diana…” Aelix says. I whip around.  “Funny that you literally have the word DIE in your name!” He laughs.  
“You killed us! You are the reason we are dead!” Eva, Sandra, Joselyn, Kacey, and Ginnifer scream in unison. I fall down to the ground, tears coming out of my eyes.  
“I know… I am so sorry…”  
“If we knew you would be this much trouble, we would have let you drown,” Joselyn venomously says.  
“Thrown you back in the ocean, unconscious,” Eva says.  
They dissolve into the woods. My aunt appears.  
“I died because of you. After I fed you, gave you a roof over your head! I only let Aaron do those procedures on you because that was the terms for me keeping you! You, who got kicked out of schools for weird shit happening!”  
“I’m sorry mom,” I sob “It wasn’t my fault…”  
“Yes it was!” She runs over, tackles me to the ground. Suddenly it’s not my mother, it’s Aelix again. He holds me down, too strong for me to fight him off.  
“You Diana… You are too messed up to love. I only loved you because I thought I could fix you. The way to do that is your death.”  
I shake my head.  
“No Aelix, you don’t mean that” I whimper. “You are only saying that to make me feel like I want to die, which I already do. Without you and all of my friends supporting me, helping me through all the tough shit, making me feel loved, I would have no meaning to life. You are just a vision in my head. The real Aelix would tell me that it’s not my fault. He would reassure me. My friends would help my crazy mind go to common sense.” I say to him.  
“But we are all DEAD!” Aelix yells. “And soon-”  
A dagger- no THE dagger- appears in his hand. He uses one hand to hold my wrists above my head and he raises the other hand. With one fluid motion, he swings it down, slitting my throat.

“Diana? Diana, wake up!” Chris says, his voice sounding far away.  
“Maybe we should give her a shot of epinephrine?” Nora suggests, hers sounding really really close.  
“Wake her the Hades up, I don’t care the method. We have to start the ceremony NOW, there are vans parked outside!” Ares says.  
I feel a stabbing pain in my thigh; my heart rate accelerates, and I bolt to a sitting position. I hyperventilate. Chris and Nora immediately come to my side.  
“Well, look who is awake!” My brother’s all scream. I look at them.  
“No, you all go away when Chris is here…”  
“We are back bitch!” They all yell.  
“LET ME IN!” I hear that voice that’s been yelling in my mind on and off.  
“Diana, if you hear-” Ares starts to say.  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-a voice in your head saying-”  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-to let him in-”  
“LET ME IN!”  
“-then all you gotta do is say-”  
“LET ME IN! LET ME IN! LET ME IN!”  
“-’I accept and let him in’, when I tell you”  
All of the voices that have been in my head yell different things at me. Insults mostly, some tell me to let him in. Ares drags the chest so it is under where my head goes on the restraint system. Chris and Nora exit the circle, going to other places in the barn. I notice that Dionysus is no longer beside me, and the tanks in here are empty. The transfusion lines are gone.  
Ares roughly pushes me down to a laying position. He puts his hands on my shoulders, pressing down lightly as if to keep me in this position.  
“Oh mighty Titan. May you accept this fleshy offering of Diana Agatha Summers, daughter of Dionysus, filled with the ichor of the god Dionysus. We tried once before to offer this flesh, however she is now ready to be hosted, her soul to be ripped out of her body. I, Ares, God of War, offer her to you in exchange to rule with you over the mortals when we rise up. The flesh will now offer herself,”  
Ares looks down at me. I take it that this is the cue.  
“I… I… I…”  
“Come on, say it!” Ares whispers through clenched teeth.  
“I… I...I…”  
Ares digs his fingernails into my shoulders.  
“I….”  
“Yell it,” he whispers.  
“I ACCEPT AND LET HIM IN”  
A bright yellow light explodes from under my head, blinding me. A loud noise emits from the chest. Right before everything goes black, I hear from somewhere in the barn, barely audible, a male voice.  
“We are too late”


	7. Release

Kacey’s POV- Earlier  
I did not expect there to be so many mind controlled demigods.  
As soon as our troops get onto the property, the soldiers swarm out of the house and from the gigantic barn that’s on the property. All have different clothes on, which is an odd thing to notice. However, they are all wearing a camp shirt; all of the demigods are from different demigod camps around the world. I don’t know if anyone else notices this fact. The diversity amongst the ranks and the writing on some of the shirts backs up this fact. Ares must have been desperate if he was willing to steal demigods from different countries. Most people are caught up in fighting rather than examining the oncoming soldiers.  
I have just enough time to think all this before I am  the target of an attack. I pull out my two short swords, galloping into the fight. I have the advantage and disadvantage of having one more pair of legs than most of the soldiers here. It is more places for me to feel pain, however it is also an extra set of punches. The first group of demigods that attack me figures this out quickly; They all have swords and are attacking one after the other. I do multiple centaurian roundhouse kicks to the chest, knocking each soldier’s breath out of their lungs one at a time. They stagger back, stunned, pained, and clutching their chests. Other soldiers around us notice that the ones who just attacked me are injured yet they make no attempt to see if they are okay. I find this sad; compassion for another person does not overpower the mind control.  
Soon  more soldiers attack, doing the same thing as the first set. I use the same kick ass fighting technique to defeat them. By the time I get through the second group, some members of the first group seem to be recovered enough to fight, just as another set of five come towards my little circle of pain. I manage to barely fight them off with the sequence of moves I have been doing. However, I soon have twenty soldiers in my vicinity, all clutching their throbbing body parts from where I either nicked them with my swords, or hit them with my hooves. The group members all pull ambrosia squares out of their pockets and down them in one go. The group recovers. They move quickly, surrounding me. I try to kick some of them, swiping my swords at the ones I face. I can’t manage to get in any blows. They close in on me. My mind is racing, I don’t know what to do.  
“All of the soldiers, sit down and be peaceful,” a persuasive male voice says from behind me. The group all drop down to the ground, revealing Mark to be the source.  
“Well, that’s one way to do it. Thank you,” I let out the breath I had been holding, chuckling a little at how easy that was for Mark.  
“It was Marie’s idea. All Aphrodite kids are charmspeaking soldiers to peacefully stand down.” He informs me.  
“Very smart, I like it,” I say. “Now, you wanna come with me to find Diana?”  
Mark looks a little awkward, like he wants to say something or is thinking about something he doesn’t want to tell me.  
“I think that there is already a group of people going in to save her… I was wondering if I could go try to find Martin?”  
I consider this. If Martin is in decent shape, he can fight for Diana. Not only Martin, but all of Diana’s brothers. Possibly the real Ugene too. I agree to go with him because not only are Diana’s friends fighting to free her, but Percy’s generation of heroes, not to mention the rest of the Camp Halfblood demigods who are not mind controlled.  We need to think about the others affected by Ares’ actions. After we get Martin out, however, I am going to storm in there and kick some godly ass. If no one else has done that by the time I get there.  
I let Mark ride on my horse-back, his charmspeak affecting those around us. This approach works a lot better than fighting; we make haste to the house. I do have to fight off the first few demigods who attack us, since Mark can not physically make the command faster than they can attack, and I make sure to only cause harm. I don’t want to kill anyone unless it is between my life or theirs. Hopefully it will not come to that.  
After fighting and charmspeaking our way to the porch, we are surprised to find the front door unlocked. All the demigods who were guarding it must have flooded out to fight Mark and I, not caring about their position, and not thinking logically. In fact, as we go further into the house, we realize that there are no other guards. Perhaps the only guards left are those who are directly guarding the prisoners. Mark runs around the main floor and informs me no guards are anywhere here. We now have two options; either split up and each take a floor, or search the top floor and basement together. We decide without speaking that I will go upstairs and Mark will look in the basement.  
The stairs are old and rustic, similar to the house. My hooves make their usual clop clop sound but there is the added sound of the floorboards creaking. If anyone is on the upper levels they definitely heard me. I draw out my swords in front of me, getting ready for any sort of attack. I jump on the last step, into the hallway. No one is in the hallway. There are six doors, all of them open. I go to the right, entering the two rooms on that side. No one. These rooms appear to be bedrooms, kind of. There aren’t any actual beds in the room, or the normal furnishings a loving home would have. Instead there are mothball sleeping bags that seem as old as the house with matching pillows. All of the rooms I check are filled with them. I leave the right side and go to the rest of the rooms on the left side of the hallway. Accept I don’t get to go into them. A terribly loud and painful scream comes from one of the lower levels. I rush down to the main floor and then into the basement. I nearly trip, I am going so fast.   
The basement is huge.  
“Mark?” I call out. I hear some movement through a door to my right, through a few separated rooms. I bolt, throwing open the door.  I can’t process everything in front of me.  
Near the door, we have four wounded soldiers. One has their throat slit deeply. Below them, and all over their attire, is the blood from the wound. It’s all over their used-to-be-grey shirt, which appears to be a demigod camp shirt. The writing is in another language, one I don’t recognize, and the symbol is a hydra-esque creature. They are not moving. Definitely dead.  
The second one is sprawled out in a starfish position, except for one of her arms is cut clean off her body. The stub is where the damage is greatest; the amount of blood pooling out is too much for her body to handle. Her cause of death is probably significant blood loss. She has a green camp shirt on that, again, is in another language I don’t recognize. It has a star with each point being a different animal.  
The third person is gasping for air. This person looks insanely pale, and there are no visible signs of fatal wounds, just a bruise on the person’s neck. They have a   
The last fallen soldier is located close to the cell in the room. He has many wounds, varying in degrees. I can’t actually see which wound was the fatal blow. They have many sword holes in their stomach area, a huge gash on their head with blood, both dried and fresh. They have cuts on their neck, not as deep as the first person however these could also be fatal.  
Within the cell are four more bodies. One I recognize as Mark; he has no visible fatalities, however he is passed out. His hands are bruised and bloody. Martin is next to him, crying inaudibly, with his hands shackled to the wall. Martin is shirtless, causing him to shiver, and I notice he has whip marks on his back. There are cuts and bruises all over him as well. A male who looks similar to Martin lays shackled next to the son of Dionysus, in a similar physical state, and is barely conscious. He breathes heavily. There is a woman chained to the wall near this man, her throat slit. She is definitely dead.  
I gallop over to Martin; he looks up at me with a broken look. I slash the chains, breaking them and freeing Martin and the boy next to him. I sit down the best I can next to him. I don’t know much sign language but I do know that he motions ‘Thank you’ to me. He hugs me, crying into my shoulder. I figure I should ask him yes or no questions.  
“Is Mark alive?”  
Martin nods into my shoulder.  
“Did the guards do this to him?”  
He nods and we separate. I tap Mark’s face gently. He stirs, groaning a little as his eyes flutter. I look over to the two other people in the cell.  
“Do you know those two people?” Martin nods, more tears coming to his eyes. He starts sobbing again. Instead of pestering him further, I decide to examine the two bodies, first starting with the male.  
He looks a lot like Martin. In fact, I recognize him right away as the real Ugene. Jeff was very accurate with his potion. The sight of Ugene makes me want to punch him, hit him, knick him with my sword. In my head are images of all the tortures he probably did to Diana while she was in Denver. Breaking her down despite how strong she is. Making her feel alone, hopeless, unloved, three things she most certainly is not. As I am thinking this, I remind myself that this is the REAL Ugene. The person who was actually hurting Diana was Jeff imposing as Ugene; a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This Ugene has potential for good.  
I check the son of Dionysus for a pulse and breath, satisfied after finding both. Looking back at Martin, he is trying to regain his composure. He dries his eyes, sniffing a bit. His eyes are focused on the rise and fall of Mark’s chest.  
“Martin?” I softly say. He focus breaks and he looks and me. “I don’t know sign language, but can you tell me how you know that woman somehow?”  
Martin nods weakly. He stands up and comes over to where I am with Ugene. He points to Ugene and himself, then points to the woman. My eyebrows raise.  
“Is that Diana’s sister?” I ask. Martin shakes his head, pointing up to the sky. I notice that the shackles which hang from his wrists have markings on them. If I am remembering correctly, they are Greek for ‘null’ ‘empty’ and ‘god’. I think the shackles take away Martin’s demigod powers. I ask him if he can use his powers; he looks confused and I realize that the question seemed random. He shakes his head, still pointing up.  
“I don’t know what you mean,” I tell him, a little frustrated I can’t figure it out. He points to Ugene and himself, then at the woman. He gestures to the direction of the barn.  
“You, Ugene, and…. Diana?” he nods. He makes a circular motion going out from his chest. That hand makes a fist and he puts his other hand in a fist above it. He points to the woman with the bottom hand, points to his top hand, then returns it to a fist. He taps them together twice.  
“She’s your mother?” I ask. Martin nods, tears swelling into his eyes. I stand up. Mark, Ugene, and mArtin clearly need to see a medic. I tell Martin that I am sorry for his loss and we will have a burial once we get back to camp. In order to do that, we need to get Diana and get out of here. Martin helps load Mark and Ugene onto my back. Before he climbs up himself. The bodies are laying down perpendicular to my horse-end vertebrae. He reaches over the bodies to hold onto my shirt to insure that he stays on and to avoid Mark and/or Ugene falling off. I ready my swords and we make out way out of the house.  
The first thing I see when exiting the house is a group of people are surrounding someone. Other groups are just sitting on the ground, or are passed out.  
As we exit the barn, an Apollo kid comes jogging over. Sam brings Mark off of my back; at the same time, Thomas comes over to help. He has ambrosia squares and Nectar, as well as one of our old fashioned stretchers. Mark and Ugene receive triage, checking over both patients.  
“Mark is somewhat responsive,” Sam reports.  
“This guy isn’t giving me anything,” Thomas reports. Sam gets Martin to help Mark sit up. She sings a tiny hymn; golden light flows from her hands to Mark, causing his eyes to groggily open. He blinks a few times. Mark looks around at his surroundings, bolting up to a sitting position, cursing and grabbing his ribs. Sam hands him nectar. He takes it ferociously, chugging the substance as if his life depended on it. Once back to the realm and the conscious, and after coming down from the rush he was on, Mark turns and faces Martin. He wrestles his boyfriend into a hug.  
“Thank the gods” he breathes. They separate.  
“Mark, what happened in there?” I ask.Mark signs what we are saying for Martin. “I found four guards basically dead. And what about the guard with all those wounds?”  
Mark smiles sheepishly.  
“I sorta kinda took all four on at once…”  
“How?” I ask, bewildered.  
“Rage? I don’t really know myself… The only one that put up a real fight was the interpreter-”  
“Interpreter?” I question. Mark signs what we are saying for Martin.  
“Yeah, the one who had many wounds. That guard would not go down. He kept telling Martin while I was fighting the others our banter, and was also telling Martin how he couldn’t wait to kill me in front of him. It pissed me off. We fought for what seemed like forever; he got in a few good blows, I got in some nice shots...”  
“I just think that it’s weird they tortured Martin yet let him be able to have an interpreter.” I admit. If they really wanted to break him down to nothing, they would have not given him the choice to communicate. I gesture for Mark to continue his story.  
“Anyway, I was insanely tired after the fight. I must have passed out after breaking the chains with my sword. And letting myself into the cage.”  
Thomas asks examine Mark one more time, now that he has eaten the ambrosia square. He should be mostly healed. Sam asks Martin to come with her to the makeshift hospital to stay until Diana is free. Martin signs something; Mark tells us that Martin was asking why he can’t fight for Diana too. Sam tells him that he will help in the after-process. He IS her brother; we need to protect him too. Sam asks Martin if he is strong enough to help carry Ugene. Martin nods. According to Mark, he asks if Mark could come too so that he can communicate. At this, Thomas and Mark decide to go along with them.  
I gallop back into the fight. Although, ‘fight’ is a poor representation of what is happening right now. Most of the soldiers are either unconscious or under charmspeak. I gallop up the hill to where I see Percy and Piper combating the guards at the front door. I get there just as Piper resorts to charmspeak. The guards all flock away and go towards different groups that are on the lawn, joining them in whichever activity they choose. A deep rumble comes from the barn; the seven demigods who were fighting alongside Percy immediately pull open the doors with haste.  
“I ACCEPT AND LET HIM IN!”  
We hear Diana yell as we enter the barn. We don’t get much of a chance to survey our surroundings due to a bright, blinding, yellow light shoots towards us.  
“YEEEEEES” we hear Ares below.  
“We’re too late…” Annabeth breathes. Percy immediately embraces her in a loving and protective manner.  
“It’s okay. We beat him once, we can beat him again…” He comforts her.  
“But Percy… That was because Luke-” Annabeth starts to cry a little.  
“RISE KRONOS!”Ares yells. “Break out of the chains that bind you!”  
We all look on in horrified anticipation.  
Nothing.  
Ares looks down at Diana’s dormant body. She looks like she is sleeping, as if there isn’t a Titan possessing her. She looks like her normal self. Ares taps her face. Everyone stands still apart from the God of War, unsure what to do or how to react. Ares starts to get a panicked look. Did it work? Out of all the possibilities of how this went, I never even considered that the spell wouldn’t work. Ares’ look of panic intensifies by the second.  
“Rise! Kronos! I command you!” Ares frustratedly demands. Nothing. He marches over to a stick, which I just now notice is a spear with one of her brother’s heads on it. In fact, there is a circle around her, each with a brother’s head on it.  
“Oh, Gods…” I mutter “Poor Diana…”  
Ares angrily licks over a spear. It slides across the floor, towards another group of people. Eva, Aelix, Joselyn, Sandra, Marie, Chris, Ammon, Cole, and Ajax all look down in horror at the sight. Joselyn, Marie, and Sandra are in the front of the group, with Eva and Chris rearing the back of the group. Ares probably can’t see Chris due to Ajax’s wide shoulders and body. Joselyn collapses to the ground, pulling something out of her pocket and putting it in the head of the dead brother. I’m guessing it’s a drachma.  
“You monster!” Marie cries. She is the first to charge at some of the soldiers guarding Diana and Ares. The rest of the group follows suit. I look back at the heroes of olympus.  
“Shall we?” I ask with a smirk. Percy unsheathes Riptide, Frank nocks an arrow, and Jason flips his coin. The others get out their weapons. I take it as a yes.  
I get up on my hind legs upon the first attack, kick out my front legs, and make a painful blow to the shoulder blades, knocking down the attacker. I then move on to the next one, replicating the move. The second guard attacking is able to get a blow in to one of my horse legs. I immediately feel the sting, and start limping. Chris sees me struggling to stand, and runs over.  
“So you’re on our side?” I suspiciously ask.  
“Yes,” he tells me. “And the spell Kronos didn’t work.”  
I gape at him. It didn’t work? I think. How does Chris know this.  
“Let me try to heal your leg,” Chris pleads. “I promise, I will explain. Soon.”  
I allow him to heal my leg, trusting that his expression of sincerity is real. I am proven right; my leg is healed quickly.  
“CHRISTOPHER NEALSON I DEMAND YOUR PRESENCE!” Ares bellows. “WHERE ARE YOU?”  
I look down and Chris is gone.  
Ares is interrupted by someone lunging at them with their spear. I watch in horror as Cole defiantly spars with the God of War.  
“You let Diana go! It’s over and your little spell thing didn’t work!” He viciously demands. Ares manages to disarm Cole, pointing his god blade at his throat.  
“Night night little fire scum” Ares cruelly says. Joselyn screams as she watches her boyfriend’s throat being slit with a sword whose wounds can’t be healed with magic. Only our biology can heal them; however this can not be fixed.   
“COLE!” Ajax and Joselyn yell. He charges at Ares in a mad rage.  
“Ajax, don’t! You aren’t strong enough!” Sandra yells amidst the battle. Ajax doesn’t hear her or ignores her. In a vengeful rage, he uses his speed to try to get an advantage over the god. He is able to knick him a few times, however the god of war picks up on Ajax’s movements. During the next attack, Ares grabs Ajax’s neck and holds him in the air. Ajax tries slashing at Ares’ arm. It doesn’t hit. Ares grabs Ajax’s wrist with his other hand and uses Ajax’s own sword to run him through the stomach. Ares lets Ajax’s body fall limp. Sandra cries out in despair, defeating her current opponent quickly. Ares moves away from Ajax’s body and goes over to Diana. Aelix, who is currently fending off two guards at once, takes notice.  
“Don’t you fucking touch her!” He yells. Ares smirks.  
“Oh? Like this?” Ares muses, then goes to grab Diana’s chest but something stops him. His godly skin rips off of the hand reaching towards Diana. The closer it goes, the more skin gets ripped off. Ares curses angrily. He orders guards to take Diana, and then he walks over to a door. The guards stationed at the door let him through. I charge at the guards trying to transport Diana and the Kronos chest through the place Ares went through. I am able to get through them, however it is not fast enough and they disappear through the door. Ares locks the door behind him.  
We defeat the soldiers in this section of the barn soon after. We send the seven after Diana so we can mourn for a few minutes. Eva has gone pale; she cradles Ammon in a comforting embrace without taking her shocked eyes off of the bodies. Ammon doesn’t even look at either boys. Marie is hugging Sandra as she softly sobs. Aelix is sitting away from all this. Joselyn is pale as well, kneeling down next to Cole with a ghosted look on her face. As a daughter of Hades, she probably felt things the rest of us couldn’t.  
“My friends are dead…. My girlfriend is possibly possessed by a titan who could destroy the world…” Aelix says in shock, tears running in a steady stream down his face.  
“I felt it…” Joselyn croaks.  
“Felt what?” Eva asks softly.  
“I felt him… Cole… I felt his soul leaving his body… He is on the boat with Charon as we speak.” she shakily tells us.  
“Would you like to talk to Mitchell?” I pipe up. I remember that Mitchell has a van strictly for counselling and victims of shock. He has blankets, two Apollo kids, and other things that may help a person cope. There’s a Hypnos child there to put people asleep if they are too sensitive to be conscious during the battle.  
“Yes… I want you all to avenge their deaths by gaining a life. And then asshole of a god Ares can pay for what he did when Diana kicks his fucking ass.” Joselyn’s voice shakes but she sounds determined. Ammon, on the other hand, is currently putting his whole body weight onto Eva. Eva is talking to him in a calm and low voice, her eyes on me. I see Ammon nod his head.  
“Ammon’s going to go see Mitchell as well.”  
I turn to Sandra. “Sandra?”  
I hear a muffled ‘yes’ come from Sandra; she is speaking into Marie’s shoulder as Marie rubs her back in a calming gesture. Sandra lifts her head up.  
“I want to save Diana, but I can’t....” She says firmly at first but breaks. I nod solemnly.  
“I am truly sorry for your losses. They will have proper burial back at Camp.” I promise them. Just then, Nico appears out of the shadows. He informs us that the seven lost where Ares went. According to him, there are a bunch of underground passageways. They found a room that overlooks this big one. I ask Nico to transport Ajax and Cole’s bodies to one of our busses; he agrees and then goes over to his sister to comfort her. She hugs him back.  
“Did you feel him leave too?” Joselyn asks Nico. Nico nods.  
“That’s how I knew you would need time to mourn. It’s why we followed Ares.”  
They separate. Nico hoists the bodies over his shoulder. Gestures for Ammon to follow him.  They go into a shadow and vanish from sight with Joselyn and Sandra following suit. At the same time, a yellow smoke curls up from the ground, about the height of a person, and then snakes down to reveal Chris. He looks at us excitedly.  
“Guys!” He exclaims. This sobers people up a bit, distracting them from the two losses we all just suffered.  
“I was just with Ares and Diana. It worked!” He proclaims.  
The incantation worked? Something inside me breaks. If Chris is on our side, why is he excited about this?  
Aelix lunges at Chris, a dagger in hand. He grabs Chris’ shirt and puts the dagger along his neck.  
“What the hell are you saying? Are you HAPPY that Diana is possessed by Kronos?!” He darkly questions.  
“No, guys. It worked! My spell! Well, it sort of did…”  
Aelix pushes the dagger a little so that it makes a small, not life threatening, barely worthy of a bandage, cut.  
“Explain, Nealson. What spell?”  
Chris swear at Aelix for making the tiny cut of his neck.  
“All this time, I’ve been tampering with the spell Kronos put on Diana-”  
“WHAT?!” we all unanimously exclaim. Aelix puts his blade away and lets go of Chris.  
“I wasn’t able to stop her from becoming a Host, however I was able to do two things. The first being that her soul coexists instead of going to the Underworld. Now, for the second thing, I couldn’t get rid of Kronos, but I was able to give Diana a choice. She has to choose whether she wants Kronos to possess her, or if she wants a God to,” Chris tells us.We all stand, shocked, staring at him.  
“Why the hell didn’t you tell us?!” Aelix asks bewildered.  
“It was a backup plan in case you guys didn’t make it in time. And Ares has been keeping me busy with making sure Diana was tortured properly. I couldn’t blow my cover by mysteriously leaving.” Chris answers.  
“What do you want?” Marie demands lightly but with a bit of venom in her tone. We all look at her.  
“What do you mean?” Chris asks.  
“Surely you can’t be doing this out of your own volition, or because you are ‘good’. You have killed people in Ares’ name,” Marie states.  
“When you were six you tried to get Evaline to accept Kronos,” I offer. It does seem kind of suspicious that he’s helping out. Does he want some sort of compensation? Will he spring it on us after his plan works, threatening to undo his handiwork if we don’t give him what he wants?  
Chris’s eyes tear up a bit at our accusations and bringing up his past. He looks down at the ground, squeezing his eyes shut.  
“I just want to be accepted… Rehabilitated… I know that I messed up when I was a kid-” He croaks, cutting himself off so he can let out a sob. “But I was six years old. I had no clue what I was doing… Then you guys locked me in that magical cage…. I thought you guys were the evil ones. I joined Ares again because he offered me freedom and the chance to have power. But I don’t want to the world to be overtaken. I don’t want anyone to feel like I did when I was freed. It’s not healthy; I went bat shit crazy. I just want to be on the side of the good guys…”  
By now, we all have little tears in our eyes. Aelix straight up hugs Chris.  
“Thank you. I forgive you,” Aelix tells Chris. Chris begins to sob. The son of Phobos separates from the grandson of Hecate.  
“Now,” Aelix says seriously. “You want to be the good guy? Bring us to Diana.”  
With that, Chris blasts the door off - mostly to look cool - and leads the way through the tunnels.


	8. Raising Hell and Sinking to It

Kacey’s POV

We follow Chris through some underground tunnels. It takes us longer than I expected to get to the destination. Chris lets us know throughout how much longer it will take to get there. We do not meet any guards in the tunnels; this is probably due to Ares not expecting us to follow, or he wasn’t expecting to use this route at all. When we are almost there, Chris explains how this will work. We are to stand in the shadows and watch. We shouldn’t attack. If the spell Chris did works, and Diana chooses the right option, she will be possessed by a God. We are to only leave our safe little space when Ares is defeated and when Diana is not possessed. We all agree on the terms. Chris leads us to a door.  
The safe space is actually a room with one-way mirror. We can see Ares and Diana but they can’t see us. Chris magics up seat for us. Aelix, Ginnifer, Eva, Marie, and I sit down. Chris tells us that Ares will want him in the room. A yellow smoke curls up his body and he disappears. He reappears inside the room. Currently, Ares is giving an order to some non-charmspeaked minions. He smiles when he turn and sees Chris.  
“Ah, Christopher. Come here,” Ares nonchalantly says, gesturing towards where Diana is still bound. Chris obliges. As he gets closer, I realize there is a smoke circling around Diana. Currently it is white.  
“What does this mean?” Chris asks, surprisingly good at acting as if he has no clue.  
“The smoke will determine whether it is indeed Kronos hosting our little shit of a demigod. I have sent the others to grab Dionysus so he can watch his daughter fall before him. By now I believe her soul should be either trapped in her body, or it will be sent to the Underworld. By the time the Gods get here, Kronos will be awake. He will reign.”  
Ares reaches his hand out toward Diana, but the closer it gets, the more in pain he looks. We see his hand turning red, his skin bubbling and burning. Ares pulls his hand back, looking at it and Diana with hatred.  
“Well, the charm your father put there is still in tact. Too bad…” Ares looks away from Diana without a care. “Whatever. I don’t want to accidentally wake Kronos up to me doing… that to his vessel.”  
Chris, while Ares’ back is turned to him, makes a disgusted face. A door on the other side of the room opens and in enters Dionysus in a restraint system with one person pushing it.  
“Dionysus! Brother, I’m so glad you could make it!”  
Dionysus stares at him with hatred and hopelessness.  
“If you are going to torture me so, why can’t you let me at least have a good glass of gin?” Dionysus deadpans.  
“Gin to numb the pain? But I want this to hurt!”  
“Why doesn’t Chris just unleash Dionysus on Ares?” Aelix suddenly inquires as the two gods quirrel on.  
“Dionysus can’t do much. Vines? Make Ares go mad? I feel like that last one would make the situation worse.” Ginnifer responds.   
“Diana will be a combination of multiple gods. Her own lineage, plus a little extra, and then whichever god hosts her. Ares can’t possibly compete with that.” Eva adds on to Ginnifer’s statement.  
“Guys!” Marie worriedly exclaims. She is pointing at the smoke. It has changed from white to a deep blue and black, swirling in random patterns. Chris, Dionysus, and Ares have noticed as well. Ares looks pleased.  
“YEEEESSSS!” he bellows.  
“He thinks it’s working,” Aelix comments. Suddenly, a second Chris appears in the room. This one is translucent, ghostly. He looks worried.  
“Guys…” he sounds terrified. “It’s me. I’m projecting part of myself to warn you… That color smoke means that Kronos is inside her. She chose Kronos.”  
She chose Kronos? How? Why?

Diana’s POV  
The darkness lasts for a while. I don't know how long I am in the darkness or where I am for a while. I think about the different areas of the underworld. If this is the Fields of Punishment it is very lame. Being alone in the dark is not as big of a punishment as the torments of my past. However, if I am left here with my own thoughts for long enough, I’m sure that it will turn into a punishment. I don’t think it is the the Fields of Asphodel because I still remember who I am and have all of my memories. It's very lame if this is Elysium. If I am dead, I should have met Charon, the Cerberus, and grand uncle Hades. Maybe reunite with my friends and apologize to them for everything. Unless my sins have doomed me for a worser fate. Similar to the fields of punishment, if this is Tartarus, it is very underwhelming. There have been stories about how Joselyn’s brother Nico, Eva’s brother Percy, and Justin’s sister Annabeth have been there and how they escaped. This definitely is not it. My worst nightmares would be shown to me.   
I don't know how, but after a while the darkness starts to take form. Two spots in the darkness start swirling and morphing into humanoid figures. They slowly come into view and focus. I also feel myself taking form.  
One of the figures is a bony looking guy with pale skin. He has a big black toga on and a crown of skulls on his head of short black hair. He has facial hair in the form of stubble. He looks around, confused, but also with a knowing gleam in his eye. He Speaks but I can’t hear what he is saying.  
The other guy has a blue bathrobe on, like he just got out of the bath. Thankfully it isn’t revealing. He is scrawny looking and shorter than the other figure. His light facial hair is messy and uncombed. He looks around unimpressed.  
I appear in the dress I was wearing previously. Both figures seem lost. The one in the bathrobe looks tired.  
Suddenly, my brothers all appear and my aunt, whom I thought was my mother for a while. She regards me with disgust. She sidles behind me, grabbing my shoulders with her taloned fingers. She gestures to the two men standing at a distance away.  
"Pick one Diana. Kronos is the one in, what appears to be, a bathrobe." She orders. I hesitantly look at the other guy.  
"What about him? Who is he?"  
"Just some other soul, probably got lost." She excuses but I don't buy it. The toga guy has an aura of importance. I don’t really know who he is and my aunt isn’t going to tell me. I elect to ignore him.  
"Kronos," I call. Robe guy turns. He can see me now; he stomps over. The scene around us changes. We are both sitting down on the edge of a cliff; the very cliff I was taken from by the birds Hades sent to kill me. Kronos sits beside me. He looks out into the ocean. My brothers and aunt have disappeared, along with the other guy.  
"Tell me, girl," he spits "why the hell have I been... BLESSED with your measly presence?"  
"Well, ugh, Ares wants you to host my body and take over the mortal and monster world... Overthrow the gods and whatnot" I tell him. He groans.  
"Not this shit again."   
Wasn't expecting that.  
"Uh, what?"  
Kronos puts his head in his hands.  
"I don't want to take over the world anymore. Ever since that son of Poseidon put me back in my place, I've been living peacefully. Enjoyably. Sorry to disappoint, but I can't host you little girl."  
If I could cry in this form I would. I am so relieved and shocked. All this build up and he doesn’t want to host me. However, I am also mad. I went through various tortures all of my life. Ares performing blood transfusions on me when I was younger. He probably sent those monsters to attack me just so that I would get kicked out of school, never really finding a place to call home. He then took me away from my friends, torturing me again. Making me think my own brother didn’t love me, when really Ugene was just being replaced by Jeff. He then isolated me, physically tortured me. He was going to sexually do it but thankfully Patrick stopped him. He killed my friends in front of me. He got me to believe my life wasn’t worth living. I wanted to die because of him. He did all this so that I would host Kronos and now that he is here inside of me, he doesn’t want to host me? I had to go through all that crap for nothing? And what happens now?  
“What do I do?” I ask him. Kronos thinks for a little. He gets an idea; Kronos manifests a pen and paper, scribbles something down quickly, and then passes me the paper.  
“Cast this spell. With that spell, you send me back into the chest.” He explains as I try to decipher the incantation silently. I nod and read it. Despite the fact it is written in a language I can not recognize, I am able to read it. Suddenly, the scene shatters around us, taking Kronos with it. As the shards fall away, a new surrounding emerges. I am in what looks like a throne room. There’s greek fire burning in multiple torches around the place. There is a fancy fireplace near the throne also lit with Greek fire. The toga guy sits in the throne. Next to his throne is a large black dog with red eyes. Guy in the throne eyes me coldly.  
"Hello grand-niece," he greets. I am frozen in place. I make the connections and believe I am standing in front of Hades.  
"So where are you sending me my lord?" I ask. I probably died when Kronos left. Now it is time to see where I end up.  
"Well, I was hoping that I could take over your body for a while and send that dick of a nephew I have where he belongs." Hades says. I look at him, shocked. This is such a surprise.  
"You mean....?"  
"You are not dead. Neither are your friends. Well! Actually Cole and Ajax did but it's because Ares is a dick. Now what do you say?"  
“My friends are alive?” I exclaim. “I saw them die though! I watched as Ares rip their bodies to shreds, torture them.”  
Hades call upon me to look at a mirror behind his throne. The reflection glimmers and then turns into an image, a scene. Joselyn and Sandra are in a bus with Mitchell and an Apollo kid. They are crying and being consoled by Mitchell.  
“I know it is hard right now,” Mitchell says “but you will get through this. They may not be with us, but maybe Joselyn’s father will allow you one last conversation with them?”  
Joselyn nods.  
“Ajax and Cole are dead?” I question.  
“They were trying to save you. Ares killed them. The only way to avenge their deaths is for you to let me possess you. That’s what Chris planned. He made it so that you could chose between Kronos and I.” Hades says.  
The image glitters again. This time, it shows my friends inside of a room, looking out at Ares, Chris, Dionysus, and… myself. There is a dark smoke around my body. Chris is projecting himself inside of the room.  
“Chris? What does this smoke mean?” Eva asks.  
“I… I actually don’t know…” Projection Chris mutters.  
Hades makes the mirror return to normal.  
“So, may I posses you and whip my nephew’s ass?”  
I can't help it; I run up to the throne and hug him. He returns it.  
"I can not be let in until you consent," he informs me. I pull away.  
"Yes. Hades please exact vengeance on Ares."  
Everything goes black.

Hades wakes up. I am still in my body, but it’s as if I am just a spectator. The smoke around Hades clears, causing Ares, Chris, and Dionysus to look over. Ares runs over, as does Chris. Hades tells me he is going to act as Kronos, not showing his form until he is unbound. Ares kneels before Hades.  
“My lord, greatness, Kronos! I brought you back so we may take over the world together!” Ares cries.  
Hades regards Ares with a snooty glare of disdain.  
“Why am I bound?” He slowly demands. Ares barks at Chris to quickly take the restraints off. Chris makes them disappear with magic. Hades slides off of the chair. He regards Ares coldly.  
“So… Ares… this vessel I am inhabiting… tell me about her.” Hades requests. Ares looks up in confusion.  
“W-what?” he stutters.  
“Tell me about her life. Who she was. Tell me about all who had to sacrifice something to get me in here.” Hades demands curtly.  
“Kronos, I don’t understand-”  
“Tell me who died? Who was hurt from your actions?”  
Ares still looks surprised, as does Chris.  
“Lord Kronos, please explain so I may answer your question-”  
“It’s a pretty freaking easy question to answer, you dick”  
Ares looks angry but then composes himself.  
“I-I-I don’t know-”  
“What were the names of the two boys you killed earlier?” Ares doesn’t answer. He is shocked. “Go on; tell me! Why do you hesitate? Why! Is it because you don’t know who they were?!”  
For the first time, I see Ares speechless.  
“Cole and Ajax. Their names were Cole and Ajax. You killed them, and many other. You tortured this vessel to no end, you sick and vile man.”  
A heat starts building inside my body. Hades tells be he is going to mix is godly powers with my amped up magic to banish him. Suddenly, I’m viewing my body from a different perspective. My consciousness is outside and I am actually spectating.  
Hades raises up, greek fire bursting up behind him. He still looks like me, but his eyes are now burning green. The dress turns black. My skin has a faint white glow. Ares looks in shock.  
“NO! HOW COULD THIS BE?!” Ares bellows.  
“You think you could get away with killing my daughter’s boyfriend? With hurting her and her friends? Unlike you and some of the other gods, I actually CARE about my children! You don’t care that you ruined this poor girl’s life?”  
“Hades, is that you?” Dionysus pipes up, shocked. He hasn’t said much. Hades turns to look at him.  
“Yes,” Hades turns to Chris. “Now, if you could let Dionysus go, and then go protect the others. I’m afraid I will have some things to attend to after this and can not help you clean up the aftermath.”  
Ares bewilderedly looks at Chris.  
“You bastard!” Ares yells. “You were playing me all along?!”  
“YES!” Chris yells back. “BECAUSE YOU ARE A MONSTER!” Chris yells back, panting after, shaking. It must have took a lot out of him. Ares snickers.  
“Chris, you forgot something.”  
Chris suddenly cries out in pain, as if fire was engulfing his body. He moves as if it was too. I scream at Hades to help him, but Hades tells me that he does not know what  is happening. A black and yellow mist engulfs the grandson of Hecate. Ares waves goodbye sarcastically.  
“Bye bye. He made a blood pact to serve me. Since he broke it and I know now, he is dead. Fun stuff, magical pacts...”  
My spiritual form, whatever this is, starts crying. Chris doesn’t deserve this punishment. He helped me the best he could. He kept me going. He made sure I knew that my friends were coming. He gave me hope.  
“Kill him. Now.” I demand Hades. He uses my magic to cast a spell on a mirror on one of the far walls. He tells Dionysus to go protect my friends. Dionysus quickly runs over to the door that is nearest the mirror. Once he is safe, Hades turns to Ares.  
“You need to be punished, nephew.”  
Ares pulls out his God Sword. It shines with a sinister light. Hades remarks how the silly sword won’t be able to stop him. Ares charges at his uncle, sword first. Hades pulls out his bone-shaped sword out of thin air at the last second. Metal clashes against metal as the two Gods fight. It’s kind of weird to watch my little body show so much strength to defeat a six foot something man. Even though they are both Gods, they are in human/demigod forms.  
“I may not be able to kill you, Hades. But I can kill the girl! And then what’s going to stop me from raising Kronos?!”  
Hades speaks to me. After explaining that he knew Kronos was inside me as well as himself, and that when he first arrived he had to find his way through my consciousness, he asks if Kronos told me anything that I could use against Ares. I explain to Hades the conversation that took place between the titan and I. Hades snickers.  
“Stupid Ares! According to Diana here, she chose Kronos first!”  
This causes Ares to falter. Hades is able to get the upper hand; Hades, in a few short and quick movements, disarms Ares and pushes him to the ground. He uses my magic to hold him. Purple smoke forms around his wrists and ankles, morphing into thick purple vines. Hades puts his sword to Ares’ throat and a foot on his chest.  
“She chose Kronos and he did not want the mortal world. Diana-” Hades pauses “Oh, that’s her name by the way. Not ‘girl’ or ‘thing’. Diana Agatha Summers. Her powers and mine combined are what’s stopping you right now. She has gone through hell because of you. And now, you shall go through hell because of what you did to her. Well, Hell isn’t the right word… the word I’m looking for is…..”  
Tartarus? I guess in my, well, our, mind. Hades informs me he is doing this for dramatic flare and to get his point across.  
“Tartarus. Yes, I believe that will suit as punishment.”  
Hey Diana, Hades says. I want you to come and help. Regain your body back and your freedom. I am only using your unhindered magic to hold him down and I will materialize just after leaving. What do you say?  
I agree. I want to take this asshole of a god and finish him myself.  
I feel myself being sucked into my own body. Just as Hades said, he materializes beside me as soon as I enter my body. I feel the power inside my veins; it is strong and draining me. I don’t know how long I can hold Ares down. Hades knows this. He looks at me.  
“You have anything to say before I banish him?”  
I look the man who has tortured me my whole life. The man who killed Cole and Ajax. The man who killed my brothers, made me believe my friends were dead, who wanted to sexually tortured. The man who has done sick things to other demigods before me. The man who lies defenseless, in my grasp. Who stole my childhood away. My mental stability. He glares at me as if I were the enemy. I defiantly look him in the eyes.  
“Fuck you.”  
A black hole opens just behind Ares. Hades nods. I use my magic to both push Ares into the hole and to keep me from being sucked into it. Ares levitates over the obsidian expanse. A black, unhuman hand reaches up out the hole, tears him limb for limb into the hole; the hole implodes. It disappears, but then, just as I am feeling the weight being lifted off of me, something strange happens. A loud boom. An invisible force knocks me over, Hades too, and I fall to the ground, my arms flying up to shield me. I painfully roll onto my back, slowly. I hear a loud, high pitched, buzzing sound. I see stars and a rainbow of colors dance across my vision. A heat flows over my body. My body fills with painful sensations and my senses act weird. Minutes pass. I hear voices calling out to me, saying my name, through the buzzing and stillness. I shut my eyes to stop the colors, to focus on hearing. Multiple hands grab me. I am placed on something soft and thin. I open my eyes briefly. Aelix is the first thing I see. He holds to bars  near my head. He doesn't notice me looking at him.  
"Hang in there Diana!" I hear Marie call from somewhere near my feet. The scenery changes. I believe we are outside. Then what looks like a school bus ceiling comes into view. I am placed on something soft but more supportive than whatever I was just on. I try to communicate but I have gone catatonic again. This time it is my body impairing me, not my mind.  
"Someone check blood pressure, I got vitals!" An Apollo kid I vaguely recognize calls. "Someone tell me what happened!"  
Marie informs the rest of the people in here what happened. I lose consciousness a few times so I only get bits and pieces. I stay conscious near the end when she recounts the explosion. Apparently Eva and Ginnifer were injured too. Aelix and Marie stayed with them while Kacey ran and got help. The Apollo kid says that I am probably in shock, physically and emotionally. My vitals get checked. They set up a heart monitor. Aelix insists that they do not use an IV unless absolutely necessary, in case I come out of this state. A heavy blanket is placed over my body. They tell Aelix to climb in next to me and hold me, suggesting it may help bring me back. They also want to test my level of awareness. My heart speeds when Aelix climbs in, immediately calming after he gets settled.  
"I'm here Diana. I'm here"  
He holds me gently but firm. A tear splats on my forehead and I realize Aelix is crying in relief.  
"Would getting her to sleep help?" Marie asks. The Apollo kid suggests it might lessen my cognitive load. A few minutes later another person enters. A child of Hypnos. They place their hands on my forehead and Aelix's. Aelix questions this but his head slumps down in slumber before he can object. I accept the darkness, knowing I am in safe hands.

Marie's POV  
I stay with Diana and Aelix as they sleep in the medical bus. The Apollo kids run every test imaginable to make sure Diana is truly herself. They won't be able to full treat her until we are back at camp. They don't get me to help with anything medical but as they do all of their tests, I hold Diana's hand in case she wakes up. As I sit there, watching all the different types of samples and tests, I inquire about Eva and Ginnifer. They were running out of the room when the blast happened, so they were knocked back. Eva hit her head pretty hard. The building started falling apart soon after Hades disappeared. A big piece of something fell onto Ginnifer's ankle. They were carried out by some of the guards who were released from Ares' control when the dick was sent to Tartarus. Kacey ran ahead to get the vehicles ready for departure.  
An Apollo kid informs me that Eva is being given ambrosia and she most likely has a concussion. Ginnifer's ankle needs an x-ray which will be done at camp.  
Joselyn shadowtravels into the room with Sandra in tow. They look like shit. Joselyn is shaking from the shadow travelling effort and the grief is probably taking a toll on her. Sandra just looks empty. They approach me.  
"We came to see Diana," Joselyn says. I move so they can interact with her.  
"She's sleeping right now, but she might be able to hear you. Or at least knows you are here." The Apollo kid informs them. Sandra gets out her clarinet to play a hymn for Diana. According to Sandra, the hymn is supposed to help with keeping nightmares at bay. Joselyn goes right next to Diana. She brushes her hair out of her face and gives the sleeping girl a hug.  
"She is going to need a lot of help recovering," Joselyn notes. "She is going to have to learn how to live a normal life."  
"We have all of the supports for her," the Apollo kid adds "she just has to want them."

Diana is still asleep when we arrive at camp. The group who went to rescue her is greeted with cheers and hoots when Kacey announces that Diana is safe and Ares was defeated. All of the fifteen-year-old and younger demigods stayed behind. The Apollo kid in charge of Diana's care gets me to help move Aelix while the Apollo kids get Diana on a stretcher and into the infirmary. They decide that Aelix should be there when Diana wakes up, as should her friends who want to be, but no one else. Her brothers and father of course are included.  
In the Infirmary, Diana gets her own private room. The Apollo kid in charge of her care sets up a few chairs for us, and brings in a gurney for Aelix. Kacey helps me place Aelix on the gurney. We all sit and talk about different things involving the events which occurred within the past 24 hours. Sandra occasionally checks Diana’s medical stats, seemingly running on autopilot. Aelix wakes up soon after Kacey explains how she got the real Ugene and Martin out. Kacey explains that they are both being looked after by another designated Apollo kid. Apparently all of the medically-gifted Apollo kids who couldn’t come with us on the mission created a system for treating people upon our return. My siblings are offering to help by using charmspeak, at least the ones who have this power, to help get information from the mind controlled soldiers and to help patients be more… accepting of treatment. I hate using charmspeak against my friends, but sometimes it’s necessary.  
Sandra is checking blood pressure when Diana starts screaming. Aelix immediately goes to her side, as do many of us. We swarm her bed. Sandra orders us to clear away. Diana looks at all of us as if she doesn’t really see us. She rips off the blood pressure machine and throws it to the other side of the room. She screams at us not to hurt her. That she is sorry. She curls into herself.   
Sandra motions for me to come stand near her. She gets Aelix too.  
“Aelix, please,” Sandra says over the screaming, gesturing to Diana. Aelix asks what she wants him to do. “Use your power so we can get to the root of this reaction.”  
Sandra turns to me. “I want you to assist if she isn’t cooperating.”  
“You mean force her into doing or saying things?” I exclaim.  
“Please don’t hurt me!” Diana sobs.  
It breaks my heart that she is like this. I agree to help, but only to a certain degree. Diana jumps when Aelix places a hand on her shoulder. She starts breathing regularly. She doesn’t stop crying but she seems not afraid of us. Diana realizes what is happening and yanks her hand away, scooching as far away from Aelix as possible without getting off of the bed.  
“NO! I know about your powers! You can’t make me!”  
I sigh. Tears burn in my eyes.  
“Diana?” she looks at me “Please hold Aelix’s hand” I use a tiny bit of charmspeak to start off. Diana doesn’t budge. I order her again, this time pouring more of my power into it. She looks horrified when her hand reaches out and grasps Aelix’s hand. Sandra sits down on the edge of the bed. Diana eyes us all with mistrust.  
“Can you tell us why you are upset?” Sandra asks. “We are your friends. Did we do anything to hurt you?”  
Diana’s eyes scan everyone in the room. They land on Sandra.  
“Hurt me? You all destroyed me. You tortured me. Some of you-” her eyes dart to Aelix “did it… physically… others more emotionally. You all know what you did.”  
“Diana, we would never intentionally hurt you,” Kacey says.  
“Yes you did! Ares brought you all in and you turned on me! You were supposed to rescue me!”  
Joselyn suddenly stands up.  
“I’ll be back. Keep her here.” She says darkly before leaving.  
“What do you remember about me?” Aelix asks. Diana eyes him with a hatred I have only seen once before in her; when she banished Ares to Tartarus.  
“You were my boyfriend. I don’t know why, but when you were supposed to rescue me, you found me broken and decided to break me further. Ares let you beat me up too. You took away my fear of you and then you hit me, sliced me, whipped me into-” Diana’s voice cracks as she tries to hold back a sob. She fails and starts to cry again. Aelix is crying now too.  
“And what did we do?” Sandra asks gently.  
“You?!” Diana sobs. “You all told me how shitty of a friend I have been. How you keep having to save me. Why couldn’t I save myself? Because I am weak, and pathetic, and not deserving of kindness.”  
“Do you know where you are?” Kacey asks. Sandra goes to sit down again, not able to continue asking questions. Diana looks around the room suspiciously.  
"Infirmary"  
"That's right. If we wanted to hurt you, why would we bring you to a place to get better?"  
Diana considers this.  
"Because you know I hate hospitals."  
Kacey tells Sandra to issue an executive order that only in extreme circumstances can someone administer a needle or IV to Diana. Sandra nods through her tears.  
"Ares has filled your head with false memories. To measure the impact of what has been done to you, can we perform a few x-rays?" Kacey asks. Diana stares at her. She slowly nods. Diana looks at me. I realize in order to move her, it is best she let go of Aelix's hand. I tell her she can let go. Diana slowly unravels her hand from Aelix's. She wings her legs over the edge of the bed, confidently stands up, and falls on her butt. I immediately rush to her aid, but she puts a hand up to stop me.  
"No," she mutters. I back off. Diana looks up at us with a wagering look in her eyes.  
"I assume that a change of outfit is in order?" She warily says, her voice shaking. Diana is still in the dress Ares had her in. Sandra regains her composure and informs Diana she is correct. Sandra asks Diana to pick three people to help. Surprisingly, Diana picks Sandra, Aelix, and I. She lets me help her up. Kacey and Justin leave to let us help Diana prepare for the x-rays. Sandra and I hoist Diana onto a chair. Sandra grabs a medical gown as I close the blinds on the window. Sandra tells Diana that they need to do a full physical on top of the x-rays. This will involve checking for any bruises, cuts, broken bones, etc. Diana stutters in confusion and fear. Aelix offers his hand if she wants comfort. Sandra flattens out the bed. Aelix turns away upon Diana's request and is given a clipboard. Sandra gets me to unzip the dress and take it off, while she puts the shirt over top quickly as to give Diana as much privacy as possible. Sandra doesn't feel comfortable with seeing all of Diana, so she allows Diana to put on the short by herself. The daughter of Dionysus looks fearful through the whole process. Sandra gets Aelix to write down some things. We move on to the physical examination. Sandra tells Diana to inform us if anything hurts or is uncomfortable. Diana doesn't say anything. Sandra gets me to help roll her shirt up so we can inspect her torso. I almost start crying; her body is littered with bruises, scars, and whip marks. There’s a huge scar from when Ares stabbed her with the God Blade. Sandra gets Aelix to turn around so he can take accurate notes. Upon seeing his girlfriend's wounds, he drops the clipboard in shock. I hold the shirt for Sandra while she inspects all of the marks and scars. She gets Aelix to grab a salve from outside. Sandra runs her fingers gently over Diana's torso. Diana squirms, making painful gasps. Sandra traces the God Blade scar which makes Diana yelp in pain. Sandra swears not to touch that one again. When Aelix returns, Sandra gets bim to apply the salve while she inspects Diana's limbs. I grab my sketchbook and quickly draw a stuffed animal for Diana. She looks surprised when it comes off the page and to life. She grabs it quickly, gasping and yelping in pain. Sandra's gasp grabs my attention. She gestures for me to come look. There are fresh cuts with a purple glow fading. Sandra's old tears start to fall again.  
"The purple light.... It’s magic..."  
I am so filled with emotions.  
"Diana stop harming yourself!" I let out my emotions and don't even realize what I've done until the glow fades. I stopped her with charmspeak.  
"She needs to see Mitchell, or someone!" I exclaim.  
"Marie, calm down," Aelix gently says, not taking his eyes off of his work. I am surprised at Aelix's placidness. He hands Sandra the salve he's been using.  
"Put this on her cuts," he says, losing his voice and the end due to a sob. He doesn't take his watering eyes off of Diana's stomach. Aelix asks Sandra what’s in the salve; Sandra says that it’s spiked with ambrosia and some other things that help demigods heal. Diana’s torso wounds are fading y the second. By the time her thighs are healed from the gashes, the only wounds that stayed permanent were a few of the whip marks and the scar from the God Blade. Sandra reports that her arms and legs are fine, other than being weak from malnutrition. A knock on the door steals our attention. Sandra calls to ask who it is; Sam the Apollo kid asks if myself and Aelix are in the room as well. Sandra replies that they are. Sam asks if she and Paul can enter. Sandra allows it. Paul, one of the medical Apollo kids, stops in his tracks at the sight of Diana. Sam seems shocked too, but it doesn’t phase her as much. She carries on and approaches Sandra.  
“Dionysus and Kacey want you three to go to the meeting room right now. Paul and I will either carry out the rest of the x-rays and such, or we will watch her until you come back.”  
Sandra asks Sam if she knows how to operate a certain machine. Sam inform Sandra she does, and asks what Sandra wants done. Sandra gives her a list. Meanwhile, Diana looks like a frightened deer as she clutches the teddy bear I drew for her. Sandra gives Sam a list of things NOT to do, and says that if Paul or herself commits any of these acts, they will have to suffer the consequences and deal with the situation. Paul looks at Diana with confused horror. He asks if we could just sedate her until Sandra returns. Sandra asks if Paul wants to try number 3 on the list. Paul asks Sam to just tell him what to do.  
Sandra, Aelix, and I leave just after Sam and Paul start loading a show for Diana to watch online during the long x-rays.


	9. Into the Journey

Kacey’s POV

Sandra, Marie, and Aelix enter shortly after I sent Sam to grab them. They all sit in their respective seats, Sandra and Will Solace sharing the Apollo spot. Eva is still being treated for her concussion, and Ginnifer is getting her ankle x-rayed. Joselyn and Nico share the Hades seat, Justin and Annabeth share the Athena seat. Percy has the Poseidon spot. The Ares spot is filled by a person cleared of mind control. Hermes has Ammon, although he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention. The hephaestus chair is empty, as Leo is mourning with the rest of the cabin. Martin and Mark are in the back. Ugene is currently getting a physical done. Dionysus and I stand at the front of the room. Once everyone is settling in, Dionysus clears his voice.  
“I have gathered you all here because I have information. The reason my daughter seems to be reacting negatively right now is because Ares tampered with the Dionysus curse. Unfortunately, his tortures only made the curse stronger. She will probably succumb to all three tiers of it. Currently, Diana is displaying the madness side of the curse. She will next turn to alcohol or drugs. I am afraid that unless we stop the curse, she will not be able to survive it. She has gone through too much.” he starts.  
“How did the curse come to be?” Justin asks. Dionysus looks down at his feet in shame.  
“It is because of something one of my old children did. She caused a whole country to go mad with drugs, alcohol, and mental insanity ravaged the nation. I refused to kill my own kin so Zeus took matters into his own hands. She was hunted down and thrown into Tartarus. To make up for her terrible actions, with each person affected in the country there is a matching kin of mine affected. I have no clue how to break it.” Dionysus explains.  
“So… we are here to brainstorm ways to possibly break it?”  
Percy stands up. He is very pale. He looks frightened and I know why.  
“Nope. We are going to appeal to the gods at a meeting Dionysus has arranged on Mount Olympus. We will present Diana to them and see if they can either break the curse, tell us how to do it, or at least heal her of some parts of the curse,” Percy states. “All of us old-folk and you all, her friends.”  
All of Diana’s friends look shocked.  
"Hades is going to be speaking on her behalf. Also he will be recounting why he sent Ares to Tartarus. Hopefully the gods will agree to do what we want." Joselyn states.  
I inform the group that we have one month to try to get Diana back to liking us. She has to go to Olympus on her own accord, without force or charmspeak. Sandra eyes Marie when I state this. I am guessing the healing process isn't an easy path. We don't expect it to be easy, just doable. We adjourn the meeting. I request to see Diana and ask Sandra how her physical healing is going. She informs me that Diana's body is responding well to the laced salve. There are a few wounds not healing. We just need to get her back to a healthy body weight. Aelix offers to go fetch a smoothie from the kitchen; Sandra tells him that would be helpful. She explains on our way there that they don't want to use any needles or IV's unless necessary so we can build her trust.   
Upon entering the infirmary, a scream raises an alarm for both Sandra and I. We immediately rush to the source. When we get to Diana's room, Sam is not present. Paul has a crying Diana tied down onto the bed. She is on her stomach; he is applying the salve roughly to her back. Sandra yells at him to get the hell out. Paul immediately jumps off and retreats. Sandra and I hurriedly remove the restraints from the poor daughter of Dionysus. Sam enters as we undo the last one and asks what happened. I recount to her the scene we walked in on. She apologized for Paul's behavior and tells us she left to go print out the pictures and told Paul to apply some salve to some more wounds. They ask Diana if she is ok, Sandra singing a hymn to help her calm down. Diana asks if more has to be put on her back. Sandra replies that Diana can pick someone who she believes will be gentle to do the rest of her back. Aelix walks in with Diana's smoothie at this moment. She points to him. Aelix looks surprised but also relieved that Diana trusts him to be gentle. He hands the smoothie to Sandra and gets to work. He continually asks Diana if he is causing her any pain. Diana is flinching at his touch every time, so he starts telling her what he is doing and when. Sandra offers her the smoothie and Diana willingly and ferociously chugs it. Diana seems satisfied after finishing the drink.  
"That smoothie had a strong grape taste," Diana remarks.  
"Grapes have helped heal you in the past. Hopefully they will help now," Aelix explains.  
I compliment Aelix on his decision.  
Someone knocks on the door. I open it, revealing Dionysus himself. Dionysus asks if it is ok for him to come see Diana. I allow it since he is her father. His eyebrows raise at the sight of Aelix and Diana, to which Aelix turns beet red. He quickly stops his work and backs away, muttering that Diana wanted him to do it, he was only trying to help. Dionysus waves him off, saying that he knows and that it's not like he was hurting her or anything. Diana looks at Dionysus with relief.  
"Dad! You have come to save me!!!" She exclaims. Dionysus looks taken back by this. Guess we forgot to inform him about her mistrust of us.  
"Save you?" He questions.  
"Yeah, from these people who want to hurt me!"  
"Diana, these people have never, and will never, hurt you."  
Diana gets a dark look about her.  
"What have you done with my father?!" She darkly asks. Sandra excuses herself from the room.  
"They haven't done anything. Ares, however, has done alot to you. He is making you believe your friends are the enemy when they are trying to help. Sandra returns with a glass of orange juice. She presents it to Diana. Diana accepts the drink, chugging it down too, and then moves so that she it sitting on the edge of the bed. A purple gas flows out of her hands. It flows up our bodies and takes hold of our necks before any of us can act. I feel my airway starting to close. Diana starts to shake. She looks like she is fighting something. Diana suddenly tries to stand up but of course falls down. The smoke disappears in a snap. Sandra goes to Diana's aid. She helps the groggy patient stand up, brings her to the bed, and gets her to lay down. She tucks Diana in with her teddy bear and the daughter of Dionysus falls asleep. Sandra explains that she figured Diana is sleep deprived so she drugged the orange juice. Her consciousness and mind are probably worn out because when she was with Ares, she was either awake here, awake there, or when she slept she had nightmares invading. Sandra informs us that Diana will be napping for a while so we should let her be and go deal with other things. Dionysus and Aelix leave after deciding they should discuss guardianship issues now that Dionysus is back. Sandra gets me to help Sam set up a heart monitor, brain activity scan, and an IV. I mostly just follow directions and hold things for her. The brain activity is to report any nightmares she might have and the IV is to keep her knocked out. The drug Sandra gave isn't as lasting as she lead Dionysus, Aelix, and myself to believe. We will obvious get rid of the evidence before she wakes up.  
I decide to go check on Evaline and Ginnifer.  
Evaline is getting out of an appointment discussing the level of her concussion. Luckily it is mild; she just has to avoid physical activity and reading for a month. Eva asks about what she missed and I fill her in. She asks if she can see the level of damage herself but I tell her that Sandra is the person she should be asking. Ginnifer is in high spirits when I find her. She has a walkable cast on her ankle, nothing too major. She has been getting updates about Diana and asks me if Sam or Sandra wants her expertise. I tell her that she could go find one of them and ask, since they are in charge of her care. Ginnifer leaves the infirmary.

Diana wakes up two days later. We made sure that she got the full 48 hours of nightmare-free, uninterrupted sleep. Any tests we did on her were done at permission of a vote between Dionysus, Aelix, and Martin, as they are bloodlines plus in a relationship. We got a scan of her brain, full body x-rays, and samples. She luckily hasn’t picked up any physical illnesses other than malnutrition. Her brain scan, however, shows that she has symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, low levels of dopamine activation, and over-activity in the amygdala. I’m not too sure about what the sciencey brain stuff is about, but it’s something that we either have to medicate her for to try and counteract it, or get the gods to fix. Of course, she will be going to therapy on top of this.  
Aelix brings a smoothie and some toast in for her. Sandra undoes all of the machines except the heart monitor. Diana isn’t cleared yet to be out of her room in the infirmary. They want to build up her mental stability and her body weight before they allow her to leave. Diana cries when she realizes where she is, muttering that it isn’t a dream. Sandra waits in agony, offering to comfort Diana if she wants it. Diana in turn clutches onto the teddy bear tightly. She is shaking either out of fear or malnutrition. When Aelix presents her with the food, it glows purple. Aelix looks at it confused.  
“Diana, what are you doing?” He questions.  
“Making sure it’s just food. That you aren’t drugging me or trying to poison me,” she answers as if it is obvious. Aelix sighs but waits for her verdict. She seems satisfied with her not-poisoned food and consumes it.  
“What do we have to do to prove to you that we are your friends? That we won’t hurt you?” Aelix asks, sounding more curious than accusatory. Diana doesn’t meet anyones eyes and shrugs.  
“I dunno” she says through a mouthful of food. "You guys tortured me a lot but apparently everything I know is a lie."  
Aelix looks intrigued now.  
"If you don't mind, what happened from your point of view?"  
Diana finishes her smoothie. She explains that all of her memories before she was captured are still intact. She explains very vaguely things Ares did to her; she tries to explain, but she can't get the words out, her body starts shaking, and she cries. Aelix tells her that if she doesn't want to go into to much detail she doesn't have to. She tells us that when we came to rescue her, we sided with Ares and tortured her for him. Taking turns. She doesn't meet anyones eyes. Then Ares killed us in front of her. She explains that while she grew fearful of us and didn't like us, she also did not think death was a justifiable consequence.  
Sandra takes notes while Diana is talking.  
Aelix suddenly pops up, as if struck with an idea.  
"Is Ginnifer able to walk yet?!" He asks. We tell him she is. He says he has an idea and will be right back. Diana asks Sandra if she could have some alone time, but Sandra tells her she is too unstable and that has to be cleared by three of the top Apollo kids. Diana seems fearful when making requests. But I guess that is because Ares would punish her for asking for anything. Maybe since we are feeding her it is showing her that we do care. Ares did not properly feed her. When she received the food from us, she tested if it was poisonous with her magic.  
Wait. If Diana still has magic, and is aware of the extent of her powers, then why doesn't she just use them to break free? To escape?  
Sandra asks Diana if she wants to watch something or read a book. Diana looks stunned at the request, nodding slowly after a few seconds. Sandra leaves me alone with Diana while she goes to grab a computer. Diana eyes questionably. Before I can say anything she starts to sweat. Her breathing become erratic. She curls in on herself. Her heart monitor displays a wild beat. She shuts her eyes tightly. I go to her aid. Sandra enters just as I get to her. The daughter of Apollo is by Diana's side in a flash.  
"What's happening?" Sandra asks me.  
"I don't know, she just started doing this a minute ago. I don't know what caused this..."  
"Do I have permission to sedate her?"  
"NO!!!" Diana screams wretchedly. She repeats the word over and over and over, screaming at such a high pitch that breaks my heart.   
The door slams open. I am suddenly being pushed aside to let Aelix make physical contact. As soon as his skin touches Diana, she calms down. Sandra and I back away to give her some space. Aelix is breathing heavily and his eyes scan Diana for any new wounds. We let Aelix handle this. He waits for Diana to get back to normal, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She flinches at his touch but allows him to wipe her tears away. Ginnifer enters after.  
"Aelix, you could have at least handed me the book instead of-" she says as she limps in, stopping her sentence when entering the scene.  
"Oh that's what the scream was." Ginnifer says, more concerned. She has a book in her hand. "Is Diana ok?"  
Aelix gently asks if she wants to talk about it but Diana just keeps her eyes closed.  
"What just happened?" Ginnifer asks bluntly.  
"Diana was having a panic attack. I sensed it from the moment we walked into the infirmary," Aelix explains "which is why I dropped the book and ran."  
"What's the book for?" Diana hoarsely asks. Ginnifer hands the book to Aelix, who then opens it to a page.  
"This spell allows you to look into my memories. Use your magic and look through my head for any memory of me torturing you," Aelix passionately tells her. His eyes tear up "I don't care if you look through all of them."  
Diana's eyebrows raise.  
"You would... You would let me go through your memories?"  
Aelix blushes a little bit.  
"There's a slight catch..."  
Diana looks concerned. She asks what it is. Aelix says that in order for her to go through his memories, Aelix will also be going through her memories. He says that if Diana wants someone else, to replace him, that he will not be offended. Diana considers this.  
"If I don't do this...." Diana trails off.  
"Then you won't know if we are telling the truth," Ginnifer says.  
Diana looks down at her lap. We wait for her response. She mutters something inaudibly and Aelix kindly asks her to speak up.  
"I'll do it"  
We all sigh in relief except Aelix.  
"You're sure?" He asks sincerely. She nods.  
"I'll go get everyone else." Sandra says. She leaves.  
Diana looks at the spell she has to cast in order to do the memory search. She frowns a little. Before I can ask why, she grabs Aelix's hand and, with her magic, cuts it open. Sandra starts towards them but Diana stops her via magic. The daughter of Dionysus then makes a cut on her own hand. Their bloody hands grasp each other.  
"The spell wants us to have a biological connection... And this is the best option given the current situation," Diana explains. She says a few words in Greek. Aelix groggily positions himself to lay next to Diana and before we know it, the two of them are asleep, their hands clasped together.

Diana’s POV  
Everything is a haze at first. It’s similar to when I was asleep for two days; not conscious but not dreaming either. Just nothing. Except this time, Aelix is here too. We are aware of each other and stick close together. I tell him we will be experiencing all of the memories together like this. He nods and asks when it will begin. Just as he finishes his question, our surroundings melt into a scene. It’s my house, back when I was in New Jersey. We hear screaming come from the kitchen. I recognize this…  
“Diona, why on earth did you have to ruin another part of the school?!” My, now known to me, aunt yells at me.  
Aelix and I head towards the kitchen, towards the raucous. We come across my aunt and I facing each other. My aunt has a huge bottle of alcohol in her hand, only a quarter full, and appears to be inebriated.  
“The teacher attacked me!” Fourteen-year-old me cries back.  
“Oh, you are using that excuse, huh?! Why don’t I call in another appointment for you?!” my aunt threatens.  
Aelix looks at me with confusion. “What appointment?”  
I just point to the scene unfolding.  
“NO!!!!!!” I cry. Young me runs but my aunt throws her glass bottle at me after chugging the rest of its contents and I duck for safety. She dials a number on her phone as she pins me down. In a matter of minutes, there are Mind-controlled Apollo kids entering, Ares as a human right behind them. The Apollo kids take a crying and protesting young me into the secret basement. My aunt and Ares stand side-by-side. He asks what I did this time and she explains that a teacher apparently asked me if I needed assistance with a question and I stabbed them with a pencil in the hand. My aunt sighs.  
“I thought that you said these episodes would go away?” She says sadly to him.  
“They have gone down, haven’t they?” My aunt nods. “I said they would lessen, not disappear completely.”  
The scene blurs, and then comes back. This time, we are up in my room. I am sitting with Rhys and Emily doing homework. They eye me warily and for good reason; I have a stress-induced twitch in my eye and am shaking. Young me goes to grab an eraser the group is sharing, but my rolled up sleeve slip back a bit to reveal a huge bruise from one of the IV’s being rejected. Probably happened the night before.  
“Oh my god, Dee, what is that?” Rhys exclaims. Young me quickly pulls her arm back, saying it’s nothing and erasing something from the sheet. Emily’s interest is peaked.  
“What was it?” Emily asks.  
“She had a gigantic bruise on her arm!” Rhys says.  
“Guys, I’m fine,” Young me doesn’t meet their eyes. Rhys grabs Young Me’s arm and forces the sleeve up to reveal the other bruises from other attempts. Emily’s eyes tear up.  
“Dee, are you being abused?”  
Young me takes a deep breath.  
“No, I had to get bloodwork done and the nurse was shit.” Young me lies effortlessly. Rhys senses the tension in young me and backs off. She return to her work but eyes the scars peaking out on my thighs from the shorts young me is wearing.  
Aelix looks to me with tears in his eyes. He looks heartbroken.  
“So, you have been doing that for a while?” He asks, referring to the scars. I nod emotionlessly.  
“I was on a really good streak before that time in the weapons shed…” I tell him. The Aelix I knew before he broke my heart and tore it to a million pieces would have been trustworthy. I don’t really know why I tell him this now.  
The scene shifts to view all of my memories of being tortured. It starts when I was brought to Denver, showing the different tortures and unpleasantries I went through. Time passes faster and when I am not on Ares’ property or and asleep, it skips those parts. Reliving my horrors causes me in this form to start to hyperventilate. Aelix’s powers of taking away fear don’t really work in here, but even his presence here seems to help me, even though he is distraught. He watches as my memories show what I recall about their abuse; what Aelix claimed as false. As I watch these memories, I notice some differences between them and the memories of myself as a preteen and younger teenager. While the older memories were crisp and sharp, these memories have a dream-like glow to them.   
Aelix is too shocked to cry as he watches Joselyn and Sandra holding me down while Eva, Ginnifer, and Marie carve up my body. Then Sandra heals me back to normal and they re-carve me up, switching jobs. While they hurt me physically, they tell me about why I deserve this. How I couldn’t save myself. Why I am such a nuisance. Aelix breaks when he enters the room. The girls chain me up, and pull the chain through a cuff in the ceiling so that I am standing with my arms up. He brings out a wooden baton.  
“You broken piece of shit,” Memory Aelix spits at me. He hits me hard in the stomach, causing me to lose my breath. “If Patrick hadn’t put that spell on you, this would be much different.”  
After hitting me a few more times with the baton, he switches to a whip. He rips my shirt open in the back, exposing it. He whips me over and over again, saying hurtful things with each strike.  
Aelix looks at me, broken and shocked. Tears are rushing down his cheeks and he begs me to try and skip this, approaching me. I back away, my mistrust of him re-ignited by the scene playing out. This causes him to break even more but he respects my boundaries. I try to focus on the spell, skipping it if I could. I somehow manage.  
Our surroundings go dark for a few minutes leaving Aelix and I standing around.  
“If it makes you feel better,” I say after a minute or two, “I noticed a difference between the memory of you beating me up and the ones from my younger teenage years.”  
This sparks his intrigue. Did he not notice? He asks me what the difference was and I point out the glow of the newer memories. Aelix tells me he didn’t really notice. Aelix refers to the blank surroundings and suggests that I guide the spell through his memories from the time I was captured. I do as he instructed. My magic doesn’t do exactly what I wanted. We end up sitting through pockets of memories from Aelix’s past. Aelix’s mother got into a serious relationship when Aelix was six years old, and his step-father, Daniel, bonded well with Aelix. Daniel was a professor at a local university, studying languages. He taught Aelix a few of them (French, German, Hebrew) throughout his life. When he was twelve, Aelix found out about his power of taking away fear; he and his stepfather were going to go o a trip to Germany but the stepfather had a severe fear of flying. Aelix would hold his step-father’s hand sometimes and Daniel would be unfearful. He questioned Aelix about this. Aelix didn’t know the cause. When they got back home, his mother confessed to Aelix about his biological father. His mother asked the gods to send someone to help Aelix with his powers. A few years later, a satyr was sent to collect Aelix and bring him to camp.  
That was the longest memory we view from his farther past. A few memories pop up. One is of when Aelix accidentally took someone from CHB’s fear away completely and permanently. The girl who became fearless ended up dying a month later on a quest because she was blinded by her need to defeat a monster. The monster ate her; her other quest members had to watch her being torn to shreds. Aelix was not allowed to take people’s fears away after that. The memory of our first meeting pops up. He apologizes for being a bit of an ass and for kissing me when I was unconscious. We watch him freak out and become mentally unstable when I ‘died’ and then again when I disappeared. We watch him go through the process of trying to find me. Nowhere in his memories does he hurt me in the way I remember him. His memories are crystal clear, like how my past memories were. Eva, Joselyn, Marie, Sandra, Kacey, and everyone else show up in his memories too. We get snippets from their process of trying to rescue me.  
They never tortured me. They didn’t do anything that I remember them doing. I mentally facepalm myself for not realizing this. My memories about them dying were fake, so why would the ones about them torturing me be real? They never did any of that.  
The scenes melt away to nothingness. Aelix asks me if I believe him, to which I answer that I do. He comes over to hug me, but I flinch and back away instinctively. He seems to have mostly recovered from seeing both my fake abuse memories and my real abuse memories. He seems fine now. Aelix stares at me as if deep in thought.  
“Even though you believe me, the memories are still there,” he says “so I understand why you are going to react the way you are. It’s going to take time and reassurance to help you heal from this.” He says wisely.  
We stand in silence for a while. I ask him how long the spell is supposed to last and he shrugs. I tell him I am going to try to magic our way out of this. Soon after I start concentrating, I feel myself being pulled down. Whatever floor we seem to be standing on collapses, we freefall and with a THUD I am suddenly back in my body.

I sit up with a gasp at the same time Aelix does. He realizes where he is, a look of recognition passes, and he asks me if I remember everything that happened during the spell. I nod. He says he does too. I look at the others in the room; Sandra, Eva, Marie, Kacey, Joselyn, Ginnifer, and Sam are all here. They all stop having mini conversations when Aelix and I chat, looking at us expectantly.  
“Well?” Kacey asks impatiently. “What’s the verdict?”  
Aelix and I unclasp hands and he moves of of the bed. Sam goes to work on stitching Aelix’s wound, away from my eye, while Sandra has a clipboard and writing utensil.  
“Someone, probably Ares, implanted fake memories of you guys torturing me. I don’t believe you guys would torture me, but memories are still in my brain so I apologize any skittishness I have around you all.” I groggily report. Sandra writes notes in my portfolio.  
Sam finishes with Aelix and moves on to me. Before I can even start panicking, Aelix is holding my other hand and taking away my fear. It’s a weird feeling, knowing that I should be freaking out but not being able to. I watch her sewing my skin and while I am not afraid, I throw up as soon as she is done. Luckily for me, Sandra had a garbage can ready. Sam wraps my hand.  
“So, now what?” I ask. “Am I allowed to go to my cabin?”  
If I am not a threat I should be allowed to go free. Everyone exchanges looks, everyone’s eyes eventually resting on Aelix. Kacey eyes him levelly.  
“Was there any reason presented from your past memories for Diana to not trust us?” she asks. Aelix tells her that I believe them, and he’s right. Even if my emotional mind says not to trust them, my logical mind says that the fuzzy memories are most likely a spell. And my friends are all are alive, they don’t seem to hate me. I just have to get over this instinct to not trust them. Especially with Aelix, since he is my boyfriend and we will want to go on date and have intimate contact.  
Sandra, Sam and Kacey say they will discuss about my freedom in a different room. The three of them leave with Aelix in tow. I ask why they brought Aelix out of the room too, and learn that during the times where I am deemed ‘mentally unstable’, my father, Aelix, and Martin are to decide what to do. I ask about when I am mentally stable if I can consent to things myself. They answer that I am correct. The only situation where they don't care whether I consent or not is life-saving procedures. Or when I become a danger to others or myself. It makes sense. I just wonder when I will be deemed mentally stable.  
There is a small silence. My friends look at me and I use my magic to create cool drawings in the air. The silence is broken by someone crying. Joselyn can't help it; she starts to cry. Eva and Marie ask her what's wrong but she doesn't answer. I ask her what's wrong. Joselyn asks if it's ok for her to hug me. I am taken back by the request, however tell her she can. I do not flinch when she approaches, however her gentleness does cause me to flinch. I apologize, telling her that I'm still not the best with physical contact. She hugs me close. I try asking her again.  
"I'm sorry," she says "It's just, we haven't known you that long but so much has happened. And you have gone through so much, probably more than we know. I want to know everything Ares did to you but I know that might be hard for you the share..."  
Joselyn trails off, parting from our hug part way through her little speech.  
"Can one of you go grab the little council of people who make health decisions for me? I want to request something of them."  
Marie exits to go fetch them. Joselyn returns to her seat, and Eva asks if she can hug me too. I tell her she can. Its soothing for me to feel that they are real, feel their heart beats, and to engage in platonic intimate contact. Their hugs feel safe, familiar.  
Marie returns with Aelix, Sandra, Kacey, Martin, Mark, and Dionysus in tow. They look at me expectantly.  
"Joselyn has expressed she wants to know what exactly I went through.... Due to Ares...." Just saying it right now is difficult "And I believe you all would like to know as well. If it is ok with my guardian team, I will allow you guys to access my memories of everything Ares did..."  
I don't realize I have a few tears running down my face until Sandra hands me a tissue. Dionysus asks if I am sure if this, his voice full of fatherly concern. I nod.  
"You all figure out how you want to get in my head. Only those who believe they can handle it should go."  
"Actually, Diana, we have something to tell you," father says. I look at him expectantly.  
"In about  four we will be talking to all of the gods about taking the curse off of you... The one all of my offspring inherit? And when we do this, we need to show them how bad it is for you. We also should justify why Ares was sent to Tartarus. Is there any way you would be willing to do this for the gods?"  
I stare in shock. On one hand, the gods deserve to know why one of them is in Tartarus. I want them to know the crimes done to me. On the other hand, I don't want them to see me like that. I don't like the idea of exposing the gods to my inner most hell and showing me at my weakest. My friends, I can handle. Not the gods. I inform them of this. The group tells me they respect my decision. Kacey send Mark and Martin to go get a child of Hypnos and after they leave, asks who will be staying to see my memories. Sandra, Joselyn, Eva, Marie, Aelix, Kacey, Ginnifer and Dionysus all indicate they will be staying. Sandra fetches Sam upon Kacey's request. They bring back with them a weird looking liquid. Sam presents it to me.  
"One way for movie-viewing type of memory showing is getting a Hypnos kid, holding hands in a circle, and using something to resurface the memories. This liquid is very hard to make; it causes the drinker to relive their worst memories. Now I will get you to drink this and then I will sedate you. Everyone will view them with you so you won't be going in there alone. I will stay out here just in case you start having medical complications." Sam explains. She presents a cuff.  
"This is so that you will not use your magic in your sleep. If you don't wear it willingly, we will force it on you."  
I stick out my arm as a sign of cooperation. I feel my magic being turned off as soon as the cuff locks.  
Clovis enters the room soon after everyone is in their places. Martin and Mark decided to go check on Ugene instead of coming here.  
Sam gets Aelix and Dionysus to hold me down while she injects the sedative. I quickly down the weird juice to invoke the memories. I vaguely am aware of my legs and shoulders being released from my boyfriend and father's grasp. I feel my hand being held. The world drifts away quickly.

I am the last to wake up from this expedition into my worst nightmares. According to Sam, she accidentally gave me too much of the sedative so I ended up sleeping for a full day. Thankfully, though, it gave my friends and family enough time to reflect on what they witnessed and time to process it all. Even so, while I eat my toast and drink my smoothie, my friends look at me with broken eyes.  
"I don't know what to say...." Marie breaks the long silence.  
"It's ok if you don't want to say anything or don't know what to say. I barely know how to describe it myself and I actually went through it," I say whilst chewing on some toast. Joselyn just stares at my heart monitor. Aelix already saw some of the horrors so he is able to recover faster than my friends.  
"The crimes done to you Diana-" Eva starts.  
"Have been answered. Diana sent Ares to Tartarus," Dionysus cuts her off. Eva looks at Dionysus with annoyance but doesn't confront him about cutting her off. I look to my father.  
"Justice was served to him, now we just need to deal with the aftermath. You have been through alot, dad, how about you take a few days off before the council?" I suggest, exchanging glances with Kacey. She gets my drift and adds in that Percy and crew are around and could take over his duties. Dionysus agrees; he breaks down crying before he leaves in a purple and green smoke.  
I look to my friends; I guess I can call them that again. I ask about the conclusions at to if I have to stay in the infirmary. Aelix gestures for Kacey to speak on this.  
"A two to one vote was made. Martin and Aelix both said you can live in your cabin once you are physically cleared from the infirmary as long as someone stays with you at all times." Kacey declares.  
I am not fond of their decision but I get why they made it. I don't know if I can be trusted to be alone.  
"Basically," Sam says "once we can upgrade you to better foods, you are good to go."  
She disposes of the plates and leaves.  
"Until then... What do you all wanna do?"  
Sandra gets an idea. She runs out of the room, hastily returning with a cart. We all give her questioning looks until she unveils what is inside: boardgames.


	10. Together

Diana’s POV

It takes my body a week to get used to regular food. We started with toast, upgraded to muffins the next day, and then slowly I started having meals delivered. Granted, I can not eat as much as I used to, but at least I can eat enough of the food groups to bring me back to a healthier weight in time. My friends come visit during the week; we play board games and talk about things other than my wellness. The ones who teach are back doing that after a few days off. Aelix found a replacement person to help new demigods find out what powers they have, serving as a volunteer in the infirmary. He checks in on me every once in a while, not daring to make physical contact unless I initiate it. I’m still wary due to the fake memories of him hurting me and it’s going to take some time to recover from that. He plays board games with me on his breaks, Sandra joining us sometimes. They put her off of my personal care, seeing that being my friend is a conflict of interest.  
I am strong enough to walk now. Hosting a god and sending one to Tartarus took a lot out of me physically. They get Marie to help me walk, as she does not teach any classes and has a lot of free time. I can almost do a lap of the infirmary without losing my breath and they say it’s good enough to move me into my cabin, since there will be people with me at every moment to help me. Marie and I are given the mission of heading back to my cabin and making a schedule for people to watch me as well of a list my little council deemed appropriate and able.  
When Marie come to fetch me, she informs me that Ugene still hasn’t woken up. He’s in some sort of coma that they can’t find the cause of. Ginnifer is going to try some magic on him later and if he turns out to be a decent human being, he might get put on the list of caregivers for me.  
Since the cabin is farther than I am capable of walking, Marie has a wheelchair to transport me. Sam does the honor of taking off the heart monitor and helping me into some not-hospital clothes. All of my clothes from before were still in the cabin, so someone fetched me some sport shorts and a t-shirt. Due to spending more time with her, I have gotten desensitized by physical contact from her. I walk over to the chair, sit down and offer a small smile to Marie.  
As soon as we exit the infirmary, she starts running.  
“Crazy driver!!!!” She yells as she runs. I laugh full-heartedly for the first time in so long, whilst holding on for dear life.  
Martin is at the entrance of the cabin when we arrive. He opens his arms for a hug, to which I accept. Martin never appeared in my nightmares for some reason. He ushers us inside. Mark is sitting on one of the beds. There are flowers on all of the beds, which have suitcases and other belongings underneath. My breath is taken from my lungs. I find myself gasping for air, my brain turning into lead and my throat burns.  
“Diana?” Mark says in slight alarm.  
Martin signs something frantically. Mark nods.  
“Diana, what’s wrong?” Mark says. Marie comes around to the front. She swears. She grabs something from a closet. She comes over to me, hooking something around my face.  
“Breath,” her voice is like honey. The command breaks whatever is happening and my lungs find air again.  
“I-i-i-i-i-i-it wasn’t a nightmare?” I am able to gasp. I thought my brothers were alive. I mean, Ares put fake memories of my friend’s deaths, surely he could do that with my brother’s? Apparently he did not… Their deaths were real.  
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…. I’m the reason they are dead…” I sob. Martin, who has tears in his eyes, asks if I want a hug. I nod and he embraces me.  
“I’m sorry Diana, I thought you knew….” Marie sorrowfully says.  
I take the grief and shove far down. Partly using my mind, partly using magic, I hide it away to a place where it can’t be reached. I sober up.  
“We are here to show me my room. Let’s go,” I emotionlessly say. Martin parts from me, a few tears escaping his eyes. Mark sidles up next to him and gives him a peck on the lips. Marie helps me stand up. The tank of air gets detached from my head by Mark and he carries it down the stairs. I remember that room. It used to be a drug lab before Chiron found it. It later got converted into a bedroom for me, equipped with a bathroom and everything. After regaining my breath from the journey down the stairs, I realize there have been a few changes. There is a medical cart in here, probably filled with emergency supplies. My bed has been upgraded to fit two people and another bed has been added to the room. When I ask Marie, she says that since I might be having nightmares, and children of Phobos have to be in contact with me in order to take away those nightmares, they got me a bigger bed. And the extra one is for when friends and whatnot sleep over. The medical cart is here due to my… history with needing medical attention. Marie sits me on the bed, makes sure I am comfy, and then Martin passes her a piece of paper plus a pen. Marie has the list of people who qualified for the job of staying with me. They have some more children of Phobos that Aelix approved for night shifts so that Aelix can hang out with me during the day. The people on the list are all of my friends, any child of Apollo, Martin and Mark together (since they are dating and Mark can sign), and a few other demigods from other houses. The older heroes are leaving soon so they are not on the list.  
"So, who on this list do you feel comfortable being with you?"  
I circle Martin and Mark first, which causes Martin to smile a little. He signs something.  
"He asked if you had any nightmares about him or I," Mark translates. I inform them I did not.  
I look at Marie, unsure of who to trust. It is the supposedly fake memories that make me hesitant. I get her to circle Joselyn, Evaline, Sandra, herself, Aelix, Ammon, Kacey, and Mitchell. I don't really care about the Phobos children since I will be sleeping. I get her to circle a few random names too. She smiles at our progress and gets the two boys to run the names over to Kacey. She asks if I care about the scheduling and I tell her I don't. Marie shows me the contract regarding my care. She warns me that while I might not like it, I don't have much say in the contract.  
She tells me that the trio of guardians decided that in an emergency, whoever is looking after me is allowed to use their powers to help. There are specifications about what constitutes as an emergency and what is and isn't allowed. I shakily ask her if there are any needles in the cart. Marie informs me that the cart is locked and magic proof.  
"That's not answering my question," I tell her.  
Marie admits there are sedatives in there but part of the contract is that these people will only use inject if it's the only option.  
A knock on the door disrupts our conversation. Aelix enters the downstairs room, smiling at me upon entrance. He stays near the door but looks at me.  
"Hey, I'm off for the rest of the day. Did you want to do anything..." He glances at Marie and then back at me "Together?"  
Marie gets the hint. She asks if that's ok with me. I tell her I would like some alone time with him where we are both conscious. She chuckles at that and exits, saying she will be figuring out a schedule with Kacey.  
Aelix and I share an awkward silence for a little while.  
"Anything in particular you want to do?" Aelix asks. I think about how considerate Aelix has been this whole time. He has been patient, respectful, and kind. I drove him crazy by being away and I am back but am not the same girl I used to be. I am less than I used to be. I need to prove myself worthy, need to make it up to him. Even though my memories tell me differently, I gesture for him to come sit beside me on the bed. Aelix smiles a little, almost in relief that after all the shit Ares put into my head, I still want to be with him. He seems relieved but also hesitant. He looks at the bookshelf in my room and gestures to it.  
"Did you want to read a book or do a puzzle?" Aelix asks. He looks over to the bookshelf and then back at me. When he turns back to me, I wrap my arm around his neck and using my forearms, gently push him down onto the bed. I straddle his waist and lower my head to meet his, making a trail of kisses across his cheek, until I get to his lips. He kisses me back. Butterflies dance in my stomach with adrenaline and a little bit of anxiety. He senses the anxiety and, either meaning to or not, takes it away. I’m not afraid of him at all. I make the kiss deeper, adding tongue. Aelix sits up, and I allow him to. We part from each other briefly. I slip my shirt off, throwing it to the other side of the room. I start to kiss him again, but he breaks it. He slides out from under me, backing up a little.  
"Diana this isn't right. You are in mourning, your emotions are probably all over the place, and you may think that you want to do certain things."   
Aelix picks up my shirt from the floor. He hands it to me, and I shockedly put it back on. I look down at my lap.  
"Don't you... Want me?" I quietly ask. I'm embarrassed. I thought he would enjoy it.  
"It's not that I don't want to do them with you, it's that I want to make sure you want to do that with me too, fully and truly."  
Aelix stands at a small distance away; far enough to give me personal space yet close enough that if I were to fall, or reach out for him, he could close the distance quickly. He tries to meet my eyes but I keep staring at his feet.  
"I need you to know something," he tells me. "Diana?"  
I nod so he knows I'm listening.  
"I am not going to touch you in any sort of sexual way until you are mentally able to consent. I know that you have been through a lot due to Ares and I want you to know I will never try to take advantage of that. We both know that I can take away fear and I accidentally just did it; I don't want you to become dependent on that, or for me to accidentally use that power and do something bigger because you can't consent to that. Know, in saying this, if you need me I am here. I will always be here for you." He sincerely and seriously tells me.  
"Does that mean I can't hug you? Because boyfriends can hug their girlfriends..."  
"Well, you hug Marie right?" He lightly says. I nod. "So you can hug me, if you want."  
“What about stopping the nightmares… Can you do that?” I ask. My eyes water up.  
“Yes, if you want me to. But, I do want to be with you while we are both conscious.”  
I tell him I want that too. He asks if I have met the siblings who will be on the Nightmare team, to which I say I have not.  
"Can you help stop the nightmares tonight?" I croak. Something in his eyes turns sad, empathetic.  
"If you want me to. Only because you can't practice any mindfulness techniques in your sleep."  
I cross my arms over my chest, not meeting his eyes.  
"That means you will have to sleep in my bed..." I say deadpanned. Aelix tries to get a reading of how I feel just from the way I said that.  
"Is that okay with you?" He asks.  
I nod. He tells me he wants me to say it out loud so that he knows I truly mean it.  
"I want you to sleep in my bed with me and take away the nightmares." I tell him. He smiles with satisfaction and relief.  
I apologize for my actions and Aelix accepts my apology. He asks if I want to read or play any board games. I think back to the things we have done in the past as dates. I don't have to think long, since I have been missing for a month or two. We should probably go on more dates and talk some more in the near future. I ask Aelix if we can go have a picnic. He smiles.  
"Sure... Did you want to do that instead of supper?" He asks. I nod.  
"Nothing fancy. Just... I don't want to be stared at by everyone..."  
Aelix looks confused by this.  
"If anyone stares, it's because they respect your heroism. Your perseverance." He tells me. "But, a not fancy picnic alone sounds lovely."  
Aelix decides to take me along to go ask permission from Kacey. It's almost suppertime so she will be in the Big House. Aelix grabs a sweater for me and asks if I would rather his assistance in walking, or if I want to use the wheelchair. I ask him to help me. Aelix decides on carrying me up the stairs, asking for my permission for different things. He grabs the air tank too, wrapping the tubing up.   
We make it to the Big House after taking a few stops for me to catch my breath. During these stops, I notice the stares of people who are walking around camp. They don't talk to me but I can tell they talk about me.  
Kacey allows us to have the picnic, giving a few guidelines. We can't go into the woods, at least one other person has to be present, and the beach is off limits. Aelix asks me if I mind him surprising me with the location. I decide to go with it. Kacey then gets me to hang out with her. She wants me to meet some of Aelix's siblings before they help me sleep. She explains that out of precaution, all of them are female now. I recognize one of the six girls whom Aelix trained to take away fear. Kacey reports that they have all been tested and can indeed take fears away. When I raise concern as the possible ethics of this testing, Kacey assures me that they were trained in the infirmary, with people who were nervous. The girls are all older, ranging from sixteen years to twenty two years. They all have signed contracts about the situation. Aelix had the ability to enter my nightmare once; they are not to do such a thing. They have to either wake me up themselves, use something from the medical cart, or get Aelix. My friends and Clovis are the only ones allowed to enter my nightmares.  
The girls introduce themselves. Tomorrow night, all of them are going to have a practice night, since I requested Aelix to help tonight. Kacey asks if the girls have any questions for me. One of them asks what typically I have nightmares about. Apparently they will be able to sense general themes or what I'm fearing. I try to answer but it's too hard and I break down crying. One of the girls immediately reacts; she gently pulls me into a hug, rubbing my back soothingly. The way Aelix does. I try to get out of the headspace of remembering my past but the memories start popping up.  
When I come back to senses, I am riding on Kacey's horse part, with someone's arms wrapped around me and holding on to Kacey.  
"Kacey?" I hoarsely say. Kacey immediately stops.  
"Diana?" Eva's voice is behind me. I flinch at her voice.  
"What happened?"  
Apparently I went into shock, becoming catatonic. Eva just so happened to be stopping by so the two of them decided to bring me to Aelix. We were riding to the picnic. Eva gets off and helps me dismount from Kacey. I sink to the ground. Eva joins me in the grass, looking for eye contact. I look into my lap. Kacey already told Eva what was happening leading up to this episode. Kacey leaves me with Eva to fetch Aelix. Eva offers me a hug. I accept it and she holds me until I let go. I sigh and wrap the blanket they put around me a little tighter. I sorrowfully ask Eva what I did to deserve this. She sadly looks at me, and tells me that I don't deserve what has happened to me. Not in my past, both pre-camp and while at camp.  
Aelix runs over as soon as he locates where I am. He sits down next to me in the grass and asks if I still want to do the whole picnic date. I do. He and Eva help me stand up. I lean more so on Aelix for support. Kacey asks him if he is good.  
"I'm great," he sats, hugging me close after asking if I am ok with that. He breaks the hug and takes a step back.  
"Do you trust me?" He asks, a mischievous gleam in his eye. I tell him I do. Aelix pulls out a blindfold from his pocket and gestures that he wants to put it on me. I nod.  
With the blindfold on, Aelix gets me to walk. He guides me along until he stops. He tells me to take the blindfold off.  
We are at the entrance to the amphitheater. I gasp. On the stage is a basket and a picnic blanket. There are fake flowers around the blanket of many shapes and colors.  
"Oh Aelix.... It's beautiful!" I exclaim.  
He leads me down the stairs and up to the stage. We sit down on the blanket. Aelix pulls out of the basket containers of food. All of them are from the camp's kitchen. Out first course is caesar salad, since I can eat solids now and have been wanting something not basic. It's really good; there's bacon in it.  
"So, Aelix," I say between bites. "Tell me about you."  
He looks at me, confused, and chuckles.  
"What?"  
"Tell me more about you. You know so much about me and my past. I don't know that much about you other than what you told me last time I was in the infirmary." I explain.  
Aelix seems baffled but amused and flattered by my request. We finish our salads and he pulls out containers of veggie pasta. He starts with what he was like as a kid.  
He had a very good relationship with his mother, Loretta, growing up. He had many friends but never really had close enough friends to stay in school after coming to camp. His mother met Daniel when he was six, so Aelix grew up with a good father figure. He tells me that when I’m better, he would like me to meet them. He writes to them and has told them a bit about me. Aelix takes this opportunity to inform me that they want his t come home for Christmas. They have told Aelix that I can come along, if I am feeling up for it. Aelix told them about the Ares ordeal, without getting too much into specifics. He told them about how I lost my own parents, when I was abducted, and that I came back not well. He pulls out an envelope from the basket, hands it to me. I open it, intrigued. The scrawls on the paper I pull out are similar to Aelix’s; it’s a letter from Loretta and Daniel. I place it on my lap, continuing to eat my pasta. They tell me that they have heard about me. They wish me a quick recovery. They say that I can come to their house if I want a break from camp, as a place I can go to. I can’t help it but my eyes tear up. Aelix’s face washes over with worry.  
“Oh my gods, it’s too much, isn’t it?” he asks, quickly trying to take the letter away, but I chuckle at him.  
“These are… happy tears,” I warmly say. I wipe away the waterworks and blow my nose in a napkin. Aelix looks at my blankly.  
“Happy tears?” he asks for reassurance. I nod and hug him.  
We stay in the amphitheater until the sun goes down, after all the food is gone, cuddling on the blanket. And we talk. Aelix tells me about his parents. He asks me about m good memories, since he has mostly heard about the bad ones. I tell him about what I remember before my ‘mother’ was an alcoholic. Up until around age seven, when the blood transfusions started, she was pretty decent. Her many boyfriends were typically hit or miss. There was one human that actually hit it off pretty well with me. He was a nurse at the local hospital and helped a lot with grade seven immunizations, taking the day off work to come in to calm me down when my ‘mother’ couldn’t make it. His name was Emanuel, and he was probably one of the best guys. Unfortunately, he broke up with my ‘mother’ due to a huge fight they got into while both were drunk. I tell him about Patrick. Looking back at it, I had a few positive memories with Patrick. He knew about the blood transfusions, about the torture. He would never participate in it; now that I think about it, he saved me from more torture by knocking me out a few times, or causing equipement to go haywire. I tell Aelix about Marie, how she made Denver more bearable.  
Aelix talks about his friends from when he was young. Aelix used to play hockey! He tells me about road trips with Daniel to some of his games. He talks about his parents, about how he met Ammon. He tears up talking about Cole and Ajax, but gets through it. I don’t mention how I feel responsible for their deaths. I make sure he knows that he can talk about as much or little as he wants. He talks about training with them, becoming friends. About the hijinks and shit they used to do. About how he got the position of teaching demigods how to discover and control their powers. He had to go through a lot of training in order to control his ability to take people’s fears away. Aelix was only able to start controlling it a year ago. Some of his siblings have followed in his footsteps and learned how to take away fears temporarily, but some have not. Example being that guy who attacked me during the first capture the flag game. When I bring up capture the flag, Aelix’s face lights up as if he just remembered something. I inquire as to what it is.  
“Kacey said that as a way to kind of reintegrate into camp and such, you can help with capture the flag. You are in no way allowed to play, but she said you can help establish teams, barrier lines, and where the flag is.” Aelix explains.  
“That’s cool,” I am excited to actually be doing an activity where the main focus isn’t me.  
It isn’t until Kacey enters the amphitheater that we realize how long we have been laying on the checkered blanket, gazing up at the stars and talking. She calls to us that the cleaning harpies will be coming soon, so we better hurry back. Kacey has brought with her pajamas for Aelix.  
When we get back to my cabin, Martin is already sound asleep in his bunk. I get changed using magic, have a quick shower, and freshen up. Kacey hands me a shot of ambrosia, which is supposed to help with healing my scars and whatnot. She says that maybe with small doses every night, with the help of magic from both Hecate and Apollo kids, we can heal them almost completely. The scar from the Godblade might be difficult even for Apollo himself. Kacey also tells me that if Aelix or his siblings finds it appropriate, I might have to take a sleeping draft each night. I groan but don’t argue.  
Aelix climbs in first - looking adorable in his nerdy pajamas - and I join him in the bed. Sleep doesn’t come easy; the more I think about things, the less I want to sleep. Every time Aelix whispers my name, I respond. He isn’t supposed to fall asleep until I do because he can use his power and then as long as we keep in physical contact it will work, no matter if he is conscious or not. Aelix goes over to the cart of equipment and after unlocking it pulls out a vial of liquid. I ask him what he is doing, my voice shaking more than I would like it. He locks the cart up and approaches me with just the vial.  
“Down this so you can get to sleep,” is his answer. I trust Aelix so I do as he instructs. The last thing I feel is Aelix climbing into bed after disposing of the vial.

Aelix is out of bed when I wake up. I don't know what time it is or how long I have been sleeping. I feel refreshed and ready to take on the new day; whatever was in that vial last night was some really good shit. This has been the best sleep I have had in months. I get changed and do my hair. Camp Halfblood shirt with short shorts. As I am getting changed, I notice that my scars are now just pink lines on my body. All except where Ares stabbed me. That scar is still deep and is sensitive when I run my fingers over it. The stitches are still in. I believe an Apollo kid redid them when I came. My body is slowly healing from it and ambrosia can't fix it. I look at myself in the mirror for a while. I notice how my old shirt hangs more now than it did before I was kidnapped. How my muscles are toned but I have lost a lot of fat. How my hair is scraggly. I use magic to make my hair look healthier.  
"Diana?" I hear Aelix call from upstairs, pulling my attention away from the mirror. I yell up to him.   
"The infirmary needs to do another check up after breakfast." He calls down. Aelix descends the stairs, smiling when he sees that I'm dressed. "Did you want to eat with the rest of camp today?"  
I ask him if I will be stared at, or if anyone will try to talk to me about what happened. He tells me that the cabin leaders have had discussions with their cabins. Since there have been others affected, such as those under mind control, the entirety of camp has been made aware that while the victims of mind control are allowed to discuss things out of group therapy, they are not to approach me with the subject. I agree to go to breakfast. The cooks have been made aware of my dietary needs.  
Aelix brings the air tank and the wheelchair along, telling me that they want me to try not to depend on it. Marie arrives at the cabin door shortly after Aelix carries me up the stairs and brings up the stuff. She walks with us to breakfast and stays close to me while Aelix pushes along the wheelchair with the air tank. I am able to make almost to the picnic tables before getting too out of breath and weak. Marie and Aelix suggests that I use one of the aids until I'm feeling better; I choose the wheelchair. Marie takes me to sit with the rest of the group, who all greet me with joy. Aelix sets the tank near me and then goes to grab our food. The table is quiet.  
"So, what's on tap for today?" I ask nonchalantly.  
Joselyn and Eva have sparring first today. Sandra is off of infirmary duties and will be taking a day off to play and write music. Ammon is hanging with his brother Reilly. Marie and Aelix return with food. My friends try to hide their looks of relief when I devour everything on my plate. I ask Marie and Aelix what we are up to today. Marie is on Diana duty for the first half so I will be hanging with her. Aelix is going to be training. The group talks about different things; training, mostly, but also about gossip around camp. Sandra informs me that one of her sisters, Nora, has requested to see me. Also, after my check up, apparently Ugene has come to consciousness and Kacey wants to see me. Martin and Mark are in the infirmary now.  
My friends all give me hugs and squeezes when they leave to go for their respective activities. Marie hooks the air tank to the back of the wheelchair. She helps me walk after making sure I am okay to walk without aids. We head over to the infirmary.  
Sam whisks me into a private curtained area. She checks blood pressure, heart, ears, nose, throat, weight, and we do an x-ray. Sam calls in another Apollo kid for checking the stitches. Marie holds my hand comfortingly and helps me keep control of my breath. I yelp at the touch of their hands around my wound. I hear them discuss it, the words "stitches" and "infected" being involved. The other Apollo kid, Thomas, turns to me. He asks to speak to Marie privately. Marie tells them that if it is about me then I deserve to know. They want me to start taking antibiotics and they want to redo the stitches. This time they are going to dress it properly. One of Aelix's sisters enters, along with Martin and Mark. Martin signs quickly.  
"It's going to be okay Diana," Mark says for Martin.  
Thomas and Sam begin to prep for restitching. With other people they would just start. With me, we get a tiny divider so that I can't see what they are doing. They give me a drug that makes my abdomen lose all it's feeling. Marie and Aelix's sister hold each hand, Marie talking soothingly, my boyfriend's sister taking away my fear.   
Instead of getting me to move, they offer that Ugene comes to me. He is recovering from a broken leg that is being treated with nectar and medication. I agree for him to come see me after coming down from the drug high. Marie makes sure I am mentally fine before allowing me to meet Ugene.  
He looks the same as when Jeff was portraying him. The only difference is that the real Ugene looks broken, not as confident. He is being supported by a volunteer. Ugene is on some pain medication for a broken leg. They set him on the bed with my permission, helping me to sit up after taking away all the medical equipment.  
"Hey," he weakly says.  
"Hi," I awkwardly say back. What do I say to him? My only memories of him are not even him. His face is one of my nightmares but it wasn't him. A shadow version of him committed those acts on me and others. I don't know if this Ugene has been informed of what Jeff did. I don't know what has been done to Ugene.  
I ask him about what he knows about me and what happened to him.  
Ugene knows about Jeff impersonating him. He knows about the tortures I went through while in the barn. He was tortured too. Apparently the mind control did not work on him or Martin. He was tested on for different formulas of the serum used. Our mother had a gene in her human blood that prevents mind control, according to the mind controlled scientists. So Ares killed her. That's partially why he never even tried mind controlling me with the serum.  
He knows that I am very mentally ill. He tells me that he wants to help me heal, if allowed, by bonding. I tell him that I need to talk to Kacey. Before he can say anything else, I ask him about the leg. He says that nectar healed everything except the leg, and that was because Ares also tested his physical abilities in combat. Someone broke his leg via kick.  
The volunteer comes to collect him. Kacey wants him to get a psychiatric assessment done.  
Nora comes to see me. She breaks down crying, apologizing for what she did to me. I start crying as well, telling her I know it wasn't her fault. She showed me compassion and guilt. She doesn't deserve any hate from me. Nora is asked to leave due causing 'patient distress'. I am too distraught to object to her leaving. Marie decides that maybe we should go let off some steam. She asks if I can be cleared for archery or something. Sam and Thomas call down Kacey to confirm the activities I am allowed to do. Kacey agrees with swimming as long as Eva comes with and I wear a bandage on my stitches. She states that once the infection clears up, I can. I get them to take the bandage off for a minute. Sam hesitantly does so. I mutter a few words, feel my power sweep through, and hear gasps.  
"Diana, did you just heal yourself?" Thomas asks.  
"Yep. Now all you have worry about is the stitches."  
I hop off the bed; a flash of pain hit me from the Godblade wound and everything goes black.


	11. Activities

Marie’s POV

I catch Diana just before she hits the ground. She should have known that she wasn’t ready to walk yet; she just went through a mentally rough procedure and then was reunited with her brother and then one of the Apollo kids Ares had under his control whom Diana recalls negatively showed up. On top of those stressors, she just used magic to heal an infection.  
Thomas is the first to react, as he is closest to us. He helps me place Diana back on the medical bed, checking her vitals. He shines a light in her eyes to check her pupils. Diana shuts her eyes, sitting up while he is on the second eye. Thomas backs up to give Diana some breathing room. She wipes her eyes.  
“How long was I out?” She asks. I chuckle.  
“A few seconds. Here, let me help,” I say amidst chuckles. I offer myself as a sturdy base. Diana wraps an arm around my neck, I wrap an arm around, and I support some of her weight as we go over to the wheelchair. Kacey writes on her clipboard. She hands the sheet to Diana and I.  
“You are permitted to do the starred activities once you gain your strength back,” Kacey says. Diana and I look over the activities. Diana immediately points out archery; it is not starred. I sigh but agree. Swimming is starred as one that Diana has to gain some strength back before she can do it. Sam hands Diana a protein bar to eat along the way.

The Apollo kid tending to the archery range does not question us at all, which seems to make Diana feel better. We tell her that Diana needs a light bow, and we may need assistance for balance. She wants me to do some archery as well. Diana takes a few steps up to the shooting area, knocking a bow. She is firm and steady on her feet. Ping! Her arrow hits two circles away from the bullseye. She seems content with it. I aim and shoot, but my arrow just manages to plunge into the edge. I ask if I could switch to throwing knives, to which the person tending the range allows. She hands me a bucket of them. After throwing five, all of them sinking close to the bullseye, I look at Diana’s progress. She has a similar result to my throwing arrows. The smile on her face causes my insides to release pressure I didn't know I was keeping. I feel the relief wash over me. Diana uses her magic to collect her arrows and then starts shooting them again. She also brings back my throwing knives. After her third set, I notice that she is starting to sway a little, her body showing obvious signs of strain. I ask her how she is doing but she just brushes me off as being fine. After releasing the current arrow, she collapses to the ground and breathes heavily. I grab the oxygen tank and rush to her side but she pushes me away.  
"No! I don't need it! I don't want it!" She exclaims, her voice trembling. "I can keep going! I am not weak, I can recover on my own."  
I squat down next to her. She won't look up at me; her eyes are squeezed tight and she is trying to breathe normally but it isn't working due to the strain she put on herself and the sobbing she is trying to repress.  
"No one is calling you weak," I softly say.  
"But you are all thinking it... Poor Diana, was beaten and is now broken. She is a defenceless child who needs to be pitied," Diana spits.  
"Receiving help doesn't make you weak." I tell her softly. "We care about you and want to help. You are not a burden, or a child, or weak. You have been through hell and back. Sure, you have some problems, physically and mentally, but you will get through them because you are strong."  
She lets her tears fall and finally opens her eyes to look at me. Her breathing has not changed so I offer her the nubs for the oxygen. She nods and doesn't resist in any way when I put them on. I hear someone say her name behind me. Turning around, I see that the Apollo kid managing the range called her sibling who were more medically inclined. They have a mini first aid kit on them, one of them having the Diana-specific one.  
The taller one of the two approaches us while the shorter one talks to their sister. Diana looks at them and immediately tries to move farther away. The Apollo kid stops in his tracks; Diana stops back away.  
"Hi Diana, my name is Wendell. We were told to come check up on you," he levelly explains. "We just want to check your heart and lungs real quick so that we can determine whether or not we need to bring you in for more intensive care. If you do not comply, we will have to deem you not stable and bring you in by force."  
Diana's eyes dart to his first aid kit, to his face, to me. Her eyes brimmed with tears. She asks if I can hold her hand for it, to which I tell her "of course". I sidle up next to her. The other apollo kid comes over to help. The taller one, Wendall, tells Diana that he is going to listen to her lungs with the stethoscope. He is going to instruct her on how he wants her to breathe, once her breathing gets back to normal. In the meantime he is going to check blood pressure. Wendell wraps the weird material around her arm, squeezing the bulb. While they focus on that, I try to help Diana with her breathing. Despite the oxygen being given to her, she is still breathing erratically.  
"Diana?" I say. She looks at me. She is visibly shaking and looks like she is trying to repress a lot. I hate to use charmspeak on her.  
"Let out what you are feeling," I tell her, using my charmspeak. A look of betrayal washes over her face.  
"I hate doctors. And procedures. I hate that the only way to get better is by cooperating with the doctors. Even after we defeated him, Ares is still making me suffer. I can't help that I get anxiety with medical things. Hell, I'm getting anxiety just from this."  
The tears start pouring out. Wendell looks sad at Diana's response but understands enough to back up for this. He takes off the blood pressure machine. I apologize for using charmspeak on her; she just nods and climbs onto my lap, hugging me close. I find my eyes watering.  
"There's so much pain..." She cries.  
The shorter guy approaches us with the first aid kit for Diana. He interrupts our emotional session by pointing out the kit.  
"You know, there are anti anxiety meds in here. I'm sure we could mix it with nectar and make a cool relaxing smoothie of healing?" He says. Diana nods slightly and I tell him to go for it. He produces a vial five minutes later.  
"We should honestly be doing this whenever you have a medical procedure," Wendell says. "Anxiolytics will be easier and effective. Will probably help you deal with the anxiety better and we won't have to knock you out every time."  
The shorter guy passes the vial to me. I put it in front of Diana's face to show her. She downs the whole contents in one gulp. We wait a minute for it to work. Diana relaxes, her body going slack.  
"We can up the dose if and when it is needed. Now, can you sit up for me?" Wendell says. Diana is breathing normally now. He puts the stethoscope earbuds in his ears and picks up the silver circle in his hand. He slides the hand up the back of her shirt; Diana immediately starts to shake. Wendell asks whats wrong but Diana shuts her eyes and curls in to me. I get him to take his hand away and he does. I rub her back soothingly which seems to help.  
"Does it involve something you don't want a stranger to know?" I ask. She nods her head. She tells me to give her my hand, to which a confusedly oblige, and suddenly an image pops up in my mind. Diana's having flashbacks of the doctor visits.  
A sinister looking one approaches Diana. He reaches around her, snaking his hands up her back, something silver going up too. She lets out a wretched scream as the doctor starts slicing her back.  
The memory snaps to a different one. This one is fuzzy at the edges so it is a fake one Ares put inside her head. Diana is laying on the restraint system back at the barn. Aelix appears beside her, an evil gleam in his eye. Diana just stares at him in awe. He climbs up on the table, straddles her, and kisses her. His hands start feeling around and find themselves taking something out from his pocket. He snakes a hand up the back of her shirt and soon Diana is screaming in pain while Aelix mocks her, telling her to scream louder.  
I come out of the flashback crying. I wrap my arms around Diana, pulling her tightly and whispering her ear words of encouragement. I ask her if I could help in any way. She asks me to use charmspeak on her. She knows that it has to get done but needs help to get through it. I nod to her and then get Wendall to come back. He brings the stethoscope up her shirt.  
"It's okay Diana," I say "Breathe normally. Stay calm. Don't let the memories resurface. Focus on me."  
Wendell instructs Diana to breathe. She follows the instructions given to her and he finishes. He awkward looks to me.  
"I should also listen to her heart..."  
I know why he hesitates. I ask Diana what she is comfortable with but she doesn't respond. She stares at the stethoscope. I demand her to tell us what she is comfortable with. She looks at me emotionlessly and replies that if anyone tries anything she will not be in control of her actions. Wendell and his brother exchange terrified looks.  
"We will just assume that everything is dandy," the shorter one says.  
Purple smoke sprouts from the ground near Wendell. It slithers up to his arm, up to his ears. It drags him close to Diana. Smoke forms around my hand and I find that my hand is soon gripping the metal part of the stethoscope. Diana mutters softly "just do it". Wendell tells me how to find the best place for him to listen to her heart. While pressing the cold metal to her skin between collarbone and chest, she starts crying again. Wendell quickly says that other than the slightly faster beat her heart is healthy. He retreats and scurries away with his brother. I wait for Diana to calm down.  
"I'm sorry for being a mess," she gets out between sobbing.  
"What's going on?" Eva asks. We both turn and see her with Ammon walking towards the archery range. Eva has a backpack on.  
"What are you guys doing here?" Diana inquires, attempting to regain her composure. Eva says that they decided to take the next shift together. Diana's eyes quickly dart from Ammon, to me, to Eva. They settle on me.  
"Are you going to leave me?" She sounds sad. I know that Eva and Ammon should probably get time with Diana alone so she can hopefully learn to trust them again. I tell her that if she needs me I will be there but Kacey  needs me for something. She doesn't probe me with questions, nodding solemnly. She gets me to inform the couple of what happened in vague terms. I do tell them in detail about the stethoscope ordeal. When I finish, I realize that Diana is still on my lap.  
"What's with the backpack?" Diana asks Eva.  
"Other than a first aid kit, there's money and car keys." She replies with a gleam in her eye. This sparks Diana's interest. She moves to sit on the edge of the platform.  
"Car keys?"

Diana’s POV  
Eva explains that Kacey has tasked Eva and Ammon for getting decorations for the winter solstice celebration that's coming up. They received permission to bring me along with them, partially because they need someone who can drive, partially to get me out of camp for a little while. On the terms that I am mentally able to drive. Marie tells them that I am doing better now and I should be good to drive. The only issue would be physically supporting myself and carrying the oxygen tank. Eva and Ammon point out that I can use the wheelchair to get to the car, and while shopping I can use the shopping cart for support, while one of them carries the oxygen tank. Marie agrees to this arrangement.  
Marie pushes me to the parking lot in the wheelchair, where Kacey awaits us. She hands Ammon a credit card and wallet with money in it. Marie hugs me and jokingly tells me to behave, which makes me chuckle. Eva helps load me into the car by spotting me. Kacey does not let me take off the oxygen tubes. She wants me to wear them the whole trip. I don’t really care; they are letting me get away from everyone and trusting me to go out in public. I ask them if the Council of Me, i.e. the three boys who make decisions for me instead of allowing me to make them, have approved of the trip. Kacey says that it wasn’t necessary for all three boys opinions because it is not a huge decision. Martin is the one they asked, since Dionysus is currently in a therapy session and Aelix is teaching or training right now. Kacey winks at me when she says they will be informed after we have left camp.  
Eva gets shotgun and Ammon goes in the back with my tank, in charge of making sure I have an appropriate amount of oxygen flowing. I don’t make any comments about Eva having a Diana-specific first aid kit.  
The driving goes well. Eva plays some easy-listening indie tunes and movie soundtracks since she is up front. She and Ammon talk with me about the different ideas in regards to decorations, asking me about my opinion. I’m glad that they want to talk about something other than me or what I’ve gone through. That’s all people seem to want to talk to me about. They think it helps, and in the right frequency it does, but talking about it too much causes me to ruminate in my past, in the misery, in the idea that I might not ever get better. It makes it seem like that’s all I am; a basket case, a pity cause. But in the car, it does not come up at any point. Ammon probably does not want to talk about it; he lost his best friends.  
Ammon is putting on a brave face but I know that he is still upset. It has been about a week, and I don’t expect for him to feel better in that time, but it hurts me to see the little cracks in his expressions. I don’t know if he blames me for what happened to Cole and Ajax, but I know I blame myself. I haven’t been able to really think about it until now. He doesn’t look me in the eyes. He talks to me but he doesn’t look at me.  
“Take this exit,” Eva instructs, her voice shattering my thoughts. I hadn’t realized that I stopped taking part in the conversation, and that we had past a few exits.   
The store is a party store that is for events bigger than birthdays but smaller than weddings. There are not many people around in the plaza where the store is located. Less witnesses if something bad happens.  
Eva helps me unload myself from the car, offering to carry the oxygen tank. Ammon leads the way into the store, holding the door open for us. A lady at the counter immediately approaches us when she sees Eva carrying the oxygen tank. In a voice too perky for the situation, she asks us if we need any help, her eyes darting from me, to the air tank, to Eva and Ammon. Eva asks if they have shopping carts; the lady informs them they do not typically give them out but she is willing to make the exception for us. She runs to, what I assume is, a storage room in the back of the store and a minute later comes out with a shopping cart. Eva thanks her for it. I whisper that I’m a little uncomfortable using the cart, since no one else uses one. Ammon huffedly tells me that it’s to help, easing his words after a glare from Eva. In this, I know he is mad at me. That in some aspect, he blames me for Cole and Ajax.  
Eva loads the tank into the cart and I use it as a support. I follow as Eva and Ammon takes the lead, mostly trying to keep my mind clear. I can’t imagine Ammon’s reaction to me having any sort of breakdown or emergency while here. The anxiety medication I took earlier has helped; I don’t feel like panicking when we pass through the costume section of the store and I see the doctor’s uniform. Eva and Ammon occasionally throw items into the cart as we go through. I don’t give any input, trying to enjoy my time out of camp.  
“Diana” a familiar voice says. I whip around but find no one there. I keep walking. I hear it again; I whip around and see nothing again. No evidence of where the noise came from. I think to myself to stay calm, that this can’t be happening right now. I can not freak out or tell them until back at camp. I keep walking behind Eva and Ammon, despite two other voices joining in, telling me that it was my fault. These voices seem to be coming from all around me, but I ignore it the best I can.  
Diana, you need to join us! Some of them start saying. I remind myself I do not want to join my brothers. I do not. They tell me if I join them, Cole or Ajax will be returned. I blink away the tears. Eva and Ammon check off everything from the list and proceed to the check-out. Ammon pays and orders Eva to get me loaded into the car. By the time I am loaded in, Ammon has finished paying and the two demigods put the bags of supplies into the trunk. I start the car, the voices still screaming. I get Eva to send a text to Aelix. He knows me well enough I think that if I send something from a book we both read, he will come to make sure everything is alright. Eva texts him the specific phrase I picked out, and I know he will get what I mean. When she questions me, I tell her it’s a private thing between Aelix and I. She smiles a little at that.  
I know I probably shouldn’t be driving while hearing voices, but I don’t want Ammon to get mad or Eva to be worried.  
Kacey and Aelix are waiting for us when we get back. A few Aphrodite kids are there too, since they are in charge of actually putting up the decorations. Aelix immediately comes to my aid, picking up the tank for me. He gives me a warm hug, whispering in my ear that he stole Kacey’s turn in order to talk out whatever I got Eva to text him for. He, of course, told Kacey that it was something important. Ammon decides to go back to training, while Eva has a turn as the lifeguard. Aelix gets me to follow him into the Big House. Apparently, while I was gone, Marie, himself, and a few Apollo kids have worked something out from the incident at the archery range.  
Marie, Wendell, Sam and a few of the medically inclined Apollo kids await us. Wendell puts forth a vial of nectar and a tiny cup with a pill inside upon Aelix and I entering the boardroom. Wendell explains that the pill is an antidepressant. Apparently, the pill combines with the nectar in such a way that makes the nectar heal the brain of any abnormalities; people who have mental health issues will be able to be medicated through the combination of the two substances. The medication also decreases the chance of burning a demigod up if they have too much. They believe that people will be able to take this every day. Or, they can take the combined substance one day, and then the medication for a few days after. I ask them what other medications they have tried; apparently it works with antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anxiolytics. They are going to present this to the whole camp.  
“And it’s all because of you,” Marie says with glee.  
“Me?” I question “It was that Apollo kid who combined the two in order to treat my anxiety. The one who was there with Wendell.”  
“Louis?” Wendell offers. I realize that the shorter Apollo kid is standing next to him. Wendell motions for me to take the meds. I plop the pill inside the nectar and down it once it has dissolved.  
You don’t deserve their help Diana! A few voices tell me.  
I thank them and ask Aelix if we can head out. We are dismissed, Marie following us out and then going back to training. Once we are alone, Aelix looks at me with concern. He suggests we go do a puzzle in my room or something, that way we can be truly alone. I nod and we walk to the Dionysus cabin. My wheelchair has gone astray but we manage to get me to my cabin without much hassle. Aelix takes the tubes out when we are at the top of the stairs, puts an arm around me, and asks if he can carry me down the stairs in a goofy voice. I chuckle and nod; he looks lovingly into my eyes, smiling at me. The voices still scream at me. I don’t feel sad anymore though; it’s as if I am normal, excluding the voices. Aelix scoops me up and I plant a kiss on his cheek. He blushes. I ask if that was okay, and Aelix nods. We descend the stairs. He sets me down on my bed, grabs a few puzzles, and then places a table top on my mattress.   
I realize that they took the mattress from my house; in fact looking around, most of my belongings are now in this room. I ask Aelix why all my stuff is here. He explains that apparently Joselyn and Sandra went back to my room in New Jersey and grabbed all of this. The puzzles are from there. If anything triggers a bad memory, it will be removed immediately. We start the puzzle in silence, not making eye contact. By the time Derrek and I have sorted out the edge pieces and some of the connecting ones, Aelix has about half a palm’s worth of pieces together. He looks over at my connections and chuckles.  
“Wow… you are really good at puzzles!” Aelix compliments. I smile for a millisecond.  
“Derrek has been telling me where to put them,” I say nonchalantly, hoping he picks up what I am trying to hint at.  
“Derrek… as in your deceased brother?” Aelix hastily asks. I nod, placing a few more pieces down.  
“They came back while at the store with Eva and Ammon… I don’t know why… I thought they were gone…”  
Aelix comes over to my side of the table top, sliding himself next to me, wrapping his arms around my body in a comforting embrace. He holds me close and firmly. Two of my brothers pull out of nowhere an old movie projector, press a button, and the false memory of Aelix beating me comes up. I am not able to turn it off so I keep reminding myself that it's fake. It was made up. Aelix would never do that. The real him asks if I think I could take antipsychotics as well. I jokingly tell him to ask my doctor. He asks me what I am seeing in my head. I use my magic to recreate the scene, the magic giving more detail than I expected. I look away from the scene, burying my head into his chest. He weakly asks me to stop showing him and I stop my magic. He moves the puzzle and tabletop off of my bed, grabs my laptop, climbs back in, and queues up a movie. We cuddle and watch a show until Aelix falls asleep, his arms wrapped around me. I continue watching the show.  
"Now would be the perfect chance to exact revenge!" One of my brothers says.  
"Would be the first good thing you do, you worthless piece of shit," another spits.  
"I defeated Ares," I inform them. "That's the best thing I have done and it was a good thing."  
"But at what cost? Poor Ajax and Cole bore the consequences!"  
My brothers split in half to form an empty space between them. Ajax and Cole appear.  
"I can't believe it! My life wasted on you. You deserved to die, not us. Had you let Kronos in he would have saved lives." Ajax spits at me.  
"N-no," I stammer "Kronos didn't want me to host him."  
"Ares probably would have taken your body though," Cole says matter-of-factly. "He knew you had more power than his earthly form. Enough to take over Olympus."  
"Ares would have brought death and pain to all beings!" I spit back at them.  
"And look at you now," they move on.  
"You barely go a day without doing your favorite activity," Ajax sneers. I ask him what that would be.  
"Hurting your friends," Cole butts in.  
"Don't you think their lives would be easier without you in them?" Ajax asks, and I actually ponder it.  
"No one to constantly look after,"  
"They could do more activities. You know, ones that are actually fun?"  
"They spend all of their time looking after you. What have you done for them? You take and take and take but never give. All you bring is pain and problems."  
I am done listening to them. I remove myself from Aelix and go over to the cart with first aid supplies. I try to magic it open but I can't. I try physically breaking it open but I am weak. I hit it over and over again.  
"Diana?" I hear my boyfriend groggily say.   
Ajax tsks. "Now you have disturbed his well-needed sleep."  
"SHUT UP!" I yell, hitting the cart harder. Suddenly there's a presence next to me.  
"Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah woah woah! Diana, what's wrong?"  
I back away from the cart, curling in on myself, clutching my head as if it will help.  
"Make them stop!" I whimper. Aelix quickly unlocks the cart, rummaging through the mountains of pills. He swears under his breath.  
"Do you mind if I call an Apollo kid? I don't want to accidentally give you the wrong one."  
I can’t verbally answer; could barely hear him over Ajax, Cole, and my brothers yelling at me. I nod, hoping he can see my head move. He swears, realizing that he left his phone in his cabin today. I am aware that he goes upstairs, calls out to someone, and then returns a few minutes later. He tells me his sister is going to grab Sam or Sandra or someone. In the meantime, he cradles me in his arms. Due to the medication I have already consumed, I am not nervous nor am I sad. I just want to get the voices and visions out of my head. Ajax comes over to me, Cole following along. They take ahold of my arms; I can FEEL them!  
“No! No! Back off!” I yell at them. I feel Aelix move suddenly, not making any physical contact. I look over to him.  
“He’s scared of you,” Ajax chirps.  
“Sorry,” I say to Aelix. “That wasn’t directed at you.”  
Cole and Ajax pull me over towards the cart. The room suddenly goes dark; all my brothers disappear, my furniture. It’s just myself, the cart, and my dead friends. Ajax points at something within the cart, their arms tugging me, forcing me to look inside. It’s a scalpel.  
“Do it Diana,” they say.  
“Aelix?” I call. No answer. “Sandra? Marie? Eva? Kacey? Ginnifer? Ammon? Justin? Martin?”  
Everything goes black for a few seconds. Hands hold me down; they firmly keep my wrists and ankles from moving. I can’t help it but I start to fight back. What if it’s Ajax or Cole? I hear something, a name, something that is being shouted at through a barrier of water. It’s distorted.  
“Diana!” I hear someone yell. I recognize this voice. There are a few others in the room.  
“Maybe we should sedate her?”  
"She isn't being violent... Not really."  
That was Sandra. She is not the one on top of me.  
I hear Kacey ask what happened. Aelix explains everything that had happened, starting at when I took the antidepressant. His voice is right above me. He explains how my magic took two human forms, dragged me across the room to the opened cart, and how I took the scalpel. He did not get to me in time to stop me from hurting myself but he stopped the scalpel before the magic hand could guide it to my throat. He is crying a little.  
"And you didn't think to sedate her?" Ginnifer asks.  
"I've got my hands full." Aelix says dryly.  
"Maybe we should bring her in to the infirmary for observation," I hear Mark say. He is probably translating for Martin.  
The group agrees. In a few seconds. I feel Aelix get off, hands replacing his and replacing where his feet were holding down my ankles. I feel them lift me onto, what I assume is, a wheelchair. They tie down my ankles and wrists, a band going around my stomach too.  
"I feel like we should strip her of her magic," I hear Ginnifer say. She explains that the damage was partially done via my magic. Until I am stable, I should not be allowed to use magic. Aelix and Martin both agree; I feel someone clamp something on my wrist and instantly feel weaker. As if my energy is drained. My eyes finally decide to work, my consciousness fully coming back to me. I sit up and pull against the constraints. Aelix tries to calm me down.  
“Diana? Diana, it’s ok. You are safe. I am here, Kacey is here. Sandra, Ginnifer. Martin, Mark, and Sam are all here too.”  
My eyes focus on him; his hand is wrapped in a bandage and there’s red on it. Oh no, I hurt Aelix. He mentioned pinning me down and that I had a scalpel in my hand. I see my arm is wrapped up a little too, the right one restrained with rope instead of metal. I try to get out of the restraints.  
“It’s for your own good Diana,” Aelix sorrowfully says. They collectively carry me up the stairs. Flashbacks of Ares and his tortures start popping up; images where I was restrained and couldn’t do anything. I fight against these ones.  
“Still think we should sedate her,” Ginnifer comments. They place me down at the top of the stairs. My lungs suddenly can’t get enough air. The walls are closing in on me. I feel the tubes from the air tank being re-administered and I scream and fight against them.  
“STOP!!!” I scream, wasting a lot of my already-low supply of air. To my surprise, the tubes are taken away. Everyone backs up except for Ginnifer. I look at her, pleading for them to let me go. I hear another set of footsteps enter. Ginnifer motions to the new person to come over, asking for her to help. Eva examines the crying, slightly bloody, tired, and bound mess that I am.  
“Why the heck did you tie her up?” Eva inquires. They all explain what has happened.  
“You guys do realize this is exactly what Ares did. Tied her up, didn’t give her much of a say? She is, er was, probably having flashbacks of being tortured. I get that to stop her you have to keep her bound, but maybe there’s a different way?”  
“What other way?!” Marie asks, sounding angry. “She hurt herself Eva, almost-”  
Marie breaks down crying. Seeing my friends upset sombers me up somehow. Enough to stop crying for a minute.  
“I-I-I-I-I’m sorry…” I say, trying not to cry. They all look relieved to hear me say something without the need to scream. “I don’t know what happened, I swear I don’t want to hurt myself…”  
“Can we bring you into the infirmary?” Kacey asks. “We need you to be on watch…”  
“No!” I say a lot harsher than I intended. “I don’t want… I just need antipsychotics. I promise you, things will get better with them. It’s because of these visions that seems so real. For a moment, I did not think I had control of myself. Frankly, it scares me that I almost died.”  
“What are you seeing?” Marie asks. I look at Sandra, hoping to convey guilt and an apology.  
“Ajax and Cole were… directing me… They made it so I couldn’t see or hear Aelix…” I answer nervously. Sandra gasps, a soft ‘no’ escaping her lips. She promptly exits the room, her hand covering her grief. Marie states she will go make sure Sandra is ok and runs after the daughter of Apollo. Sam runs downstairs for a moment, returning with a bottle. She shows it to Aelix.  
“This is the antipsychotic,” she says. She presents it to me but then chuckles a little. She pulls out a vial of Nectar, immerses the pill in it. Sam brings it to my lips; I feel it work almost instantly. Ajax, Cole, and my brothers scream as they dissolve into nothing. Everyone looks expectantly at me.  
“They’re gone,” I inform them. Ginnifer approaches me.  
“I’m going to check just to be safe. If they can really make you almost slit your throat, then they could take you over.”   
I nod. Green smoke slithers from her hands, up my neck, into my head via the ear canal. I FEEL her magic touching my brain, shivering at the discomfort. I feel it slip away from inside of me.  
“She’s good from what I can tell.”  
Ginnifer passes out. Everyone jumps, except for Aelix who immediately catches her. He’s used to catching me, I think to myself. Kacey volunteers to take her to the Hecate cabin. She leaves with Ginnifer safely on her back. Now it’s Aelix, Eva, Mark, and Martin with me. I look pleadingly at them.  
“Pleeeeeeease release me?” I beg. They also exchange looks. Martin signs something; Mark doesn’t tell the others what he said.  
“Do you all trust Martin?” Mark asks the group, although I don’t think that’s what Martin said. They all give Mark permission to do whatever he is going to do. Martin and Mark come over to me. They untie my wrists and my ankles, leaving the one around my torso. They then tie my feet together, instead of to the bars of the chair. They add a rope to the one around my waist.  
"Follow me," Mark says. Martin pushes the chair out of our cabin. The rest follow. We get all the way to the doors before I start protesting.  
"No!" I gasp. Mark holds one of the infirmary's doors open.  
"Look, it's just for a psychological appointment. Also Sam did not do a proper stitching on your arm."  
Aelix goes to take the chair, but Eva stops him.   
"Aelix, Martin, Mark? It's my turn."  
I protest some more. No way am I going to be able to handle this after the day I've had. Sam and Eva bring me into the infirmary. They decide the best action is to keep me tied up until we are past the point of no return.


	12. Rough Waters

Eva’s POV

Diana is distraught about needing stitches but doesn't put up as much of a fight as she normally would. I can tell she is tired; there are ever-lasting bags under her eyes, her whole demeanor is lower than usual, and she seems sleepy. She looks away when Sam numbs her arm so that Diana doesn't have to feel the stitches. There were a decent amount of people that we are using one of the back rooms so the daughter of Dionysus won't have expose her self-made injuries to the public. After her arm goes numb, Sam decides that we can untie Diana completely. Diana just looks boredly at us, not giving any indication to how she is really feeling. Sam asks Diana if she wants to do anything in particular while Sam heals her. Diana shrugs. I suggest watching a movie or tv show, since the room has a television. Sam puts on a movie for us and grabs a cart full of activities. We help Diana move onto the medical bed for a more comfortable setting. Diana nods when we ask if she is comfortable. I slide in next to her, surprised when she wraps and arm around me and cuddles in closer. I hold her while she takes some deep breaths. I stroke her head soothingly. Soon my friend is snoring lightly.  
"I know it’s not my place, but I feel so bad for her," Sam sounds sad.   
"She can't control anything that's happening to her... But she feels responsible when she does something bad... And then it affects her and gives her mind more examples to use against her..." I say. I feel her move a little on me; readjusting to a more comfortable position. "It's a vicious cycle."  
"At least the medication seems to be helping," Sam points out. I nod.  
Sam solemnly finishes up the stitches and moves on to bandaging up Diana's arm. The only noise coming from the television.  
"She also hates hospitals, gets anxious and panicky whenever we have to do anything medical," Sam breaks the silence. "Which sucks because our medical history for her is the largest one. We have to fill out a report for every procedure we do on her, whenever she needs equipment."  
Sam tells me that if I want, Diana and I can stay here for a little bit. Or, after the physical exam, we can go do something else. I decide Diana should try to do as many normal things as possible; I mean she went shopping with us and that went well. Now that she has all of her medications in place, we could do something a little more intense than puzzles and movies. I think sparring with the wooden sticks could be good. Or I could take her swimming, making sure the water doesn't touch her bandaged arm. Whatever she wants to do.  
Sam shakes Diana lightly to wake her up. Green eyes blink a couple of times before registering where they are. Diana sits up a little, looking surprised at the bandage. Sam informs her that she needs Diana to be awake for the rest of the physical examination. She asks if Diana would prefer her to do it, or another Apollo kid. Diana tells Sam that she might as well do it, since Sandra isn't exactly here or able to do it. I slip out as Sam is getting Diana to blow into a device that measures how well her breathing is.  
Joselyn jumps out of nowhere.  
"Hey, how's Diana? What's happened?" She asks nervously.  
Joselyn was distraught after we rescued Diana that she has been in her cabin for most of the week, only coming out for mealtimes. After the funeral, which Diana missed due to being unconscious, Joselyn only left her cabin for big events such as when we looked into Diana's memories.  
I give her the recent update of how Diana is doing, sparring her no details. She gets emotional when I tell her about everything that has happened today.  
"Do you think that after I am better that I could help?" Joselyn asks.  
"Of course; you are already on the list of people to look after her." I inform the daughter of Hades. She looks past me to the room where Diana is.  
"Do you think I could tag along with whatever you are doing next?"  
"I don't think that will be a problem."  
I hear a surprised squeak come from the room, causing Joselyn and I to jump.  
"THAT'S SO COLD!" Diana laughs hysterically. Joselyn and I chuckle.   
She emerges five minutes later. Her face lights up when she sees Joselyn; the two girls embrace each other. Sam, in the meantime, passes me the oxygen tank. When they part, Diana looks from me to Joselyn.  
"So? Sam cleared me to do some activities... What's on the agenda?"  
Diana decides on swimming, granted she be allowed to wear a swim shirt and shorts. We get Marie to whip her up some on her magic sketch pad, Joselyn and I both changing while Diana is with Marie. On our way back to collect Diana, Joselyn brings up a question.  
"How are going to know when Diana is better? What do we classify as her being better? Is it when she can be alone? When she stops hurting herself or others? What if when we decide she is ready to have her privacy back, she is alone and hurts herself?”  
"I guess we will have to take each day as we go. We can't expect her to be fine right away. Honestly, we just need to keep her safe until we present the issue to the council of the Gods. I know my Dad wants her to get better. He met Diana when the weird demon birds dropped her into the ocean. Poseidon knew she was the one from the prophecy and sent her to camp to be safe. He cares about her like a father who cares not only for his daughter but her friend's wellbeing."  
Joselyn nods.  
"Hades is definitely voting to heal her. He doesn't want all... 33? I can't remember how many brothers are down there... Anyway, he does not want a bunch of angry souls on his ass. Also I maaay have gotten pissed at him for keeping Cole and Ajax doen there and told him I would never forgive him if he didn't vote to help the person Cole was trying to rescue-"  
Joselyn wipes away a few tears. I give her a hug.  
We figure Dionysus is an obvious yes. Ares won't be there, at least we don't think. The other gods, we don't really know. In all honesty, the only hearts we need to sway are Zeus' and/or Apollo's.  
We reach the Aphrodite cabin by the time our conversation ends. Marie and Diana come out, Diana grudgingly eating a protein bar. She has a black long sleeved swim shirt with a bikini underneath. I can faintly see the scars on her thighs, my heart sinking a little. Diana crosses her arms, her legs curling more inward, her hair down and curly. She finishes the protein bar and Marie smiles at her when Diana shoves the wrapper at her. When Diana sees our confused looks she explains that Marie wouldn't let her go swimming unless she ate something healthy and would give her energy for swimming. I shoot Marie a look before we head over to the beach.  
Luckily not many people are swimming at this time. We eventually are able to stand the coldness of the water and go up to where Diana's collarbone is above the water when on flat feet. We have a lot of fun; Diana floats in the water for a while, Joselyn goes searching for cool looking rocks. I make sure they don't drown. Diana stands up and starts poking her upper arm, where the skin is under her swim top. When she notices my curiosity, she explains that the feeling in her arm has finally returned. I chuckle a little at myself; I forgot her arm was numb, despite using my powers to make sure the water doesn't make contact with the bandaging. Joselyn goes to a point where Diana would not be able to touch, coaxing us to join. We do, and I hold Diana's hand to tow her while she floats. Stew, my brother, throws us a floating tube device so that Diana does not have to spend up all her energy trying to keep her head above the water. With our help, she sits on the inner tube, relaxing and floating with her eyes closed. She seems good. After a few minutes of her floating there Joselyn breaks the silence between us.  
"Hey Diana... How are you feeling?" Josie hesitantly asks. Diana sighs contemplatively.  
"Well... I have a bunch of drugs that make life easier. I am not haunted by the people who have died because of Ares. I can't really feel complex emotions because of the other medications. My body is getting used to feeling emotions on a normal level. I am not being haunted by visions of the past. And I have been included in activities that doesn't surround me; the shopping and swimming. I am feeling... Normal."  
She does something I was not expecting; Diana takes off the swim shirt, draping it on the side of her inner tube. She comments that she doesn't care at this point. Enough of her has been displayed to may people, with or without her consent, and she is sure that word gets around camp. I ask her for more clarification if she does not mind.  
"Once a few Apollo kids have seen you basically naked. Once Ares had me scantily clad and bound with no say in what was done to my body. Once Ginnifer had literally felt up my brain with her magic, and you all witnessed my most traumatic memories, I don't really see a point to hiding. I wore the shirt because I didn't want people to see the faint lines of scars, or the bandage on my arm. But others have seen much more of me so why not?" Diana nonchalantly answers. She opens her eyes after another long silence. Joselyn just looks heartbroken. I feel sad too. Diana has known us for almost six months and we have gone through so much. She barely knows anything about us; she hasn't seen our saddest or happy moments.  
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that. And I would like if I could share more of myself with you."  
Diana closes her eyes, but I notice a small tear or two escape, and she smiles a little.  
"I'd like that. I already learned about Aelix when he entered my head and I in turn entered his."  
Diana tells us a little about Aelix's supportive parents. That they sent her letters saying that she can stay at their place if she wants. I'm glad that Diana will have a place to go when she doesn't want to stay here. I'm sure my mother would be cool with Diana staying with us for a little while. Apparently Diana is thinking about finishing school next year. With her ADHD and Dyslexia gone, she figures it will be a lot easier. Aelix typically would have gone back for school for september, but he was too preoccupied with the whole Ares thing. He is going to go to school with her. His friends at school apparently think that he is on a trip for part of the year. He has written letters to them too, and has mentioned Diana. His friends want to meet her.  
We swim long after our fingertips prune and everyone else is out if the water. We go to dry off and change, Diana going to the Aphrodite cabin to collect her clothes. Marie and Mark are in there so Joselyn and I go back to our cabins. We dry off, put clothes on, collect things we may need, and head over to see if Diana and Marie want to head to supper. A scream coming from the cabin causes Joselyn and I to sprint. Joselyn grabs my hand, pulls me into the porch of a nearby cabin. Everything goes black and I feel as if my atoms are being torn apart. Then the decor of the Aphrodite cabin appears, as if we had be dropped in suddenly. I feel nauseous and dizzy.  
"Diana?" Joselyn calls out in worry.  
Marie pokes her head out of the girl's bathroom.  
"She's in here. What's up?" She casually says. Joselyn looks from Marie to me, at a loss for words.  
"We heard a scream...?" I say. Using the wall for support. Joselyn apologizes for not warning me about shadowtravelling.  
"Oh! That wasn't her nor I." Marie says. "That was from my sister, Brittany."  
Diana calls to Marie, asking her to help brush her hair. Diana can't keep her arms engaged long enough to brush her hair. Marie reenters the bathroom without an explanation. We hear chattering nearby. Joselyn and I decide to eavesdrop.  
"Are you sure?" A guy asks, quite serious.  
"Yes! The Apollo kids did an x-ray and everything!"  
"And you're going to go through with it?" A girl asks.  
"Hells yeah!"  
"Do you know who the father is?" The serious male asks.  
"It was one of the cuties I hooked up with after we got the Dionysus chick back!"  
Joselyn and I head back to see if Diana is ready to go. Kacey is going to have fun with that one.  
Marie has put Diana's hair half up in a clip. She uses her oxygen tank to help balance as she stands up. She is looking better. Diana puts on a purple hoodie that was brought from her New Jersey room. We make sure she is good while walking over to the dining area. She has been granted permission to sit wherever she wants. She chooses the Big Three table, which is where my brother Stew is currently finishing up his meal. Martin has been allowed to sit at the Aphrodite table.  
Diana insists she do everything for herself and we don't fight her on it. She leaves the oxygen tank and the table; her balance walking up to the counter is good. She leans on it for support. The person there gives Diana her meal, which is different than what everyone else gets, and plops down a big carton of orange juice, already opened. Diana looks at it and asks why it is opened. The person serving said it's from the infirmary. Diana does not say anything else. I grab my steak, potatoes, and carrots and head over to the fire with Diana. She throws in a steak that the person put on her plate for sacrifice. I can't help but hear her whisper a prayer to Apollo.  
"Fix me."

Diana decides to join me at the campfire. Joselyn and Sandra chose to go to bed early, Marie and the Aphrodite cabin have some sort of social they are doing, Ammon also resigned early, and Aelix is (with Diana's permission) debreifing his sibling as this will be the first night Diana will be sleeping without any of her friends in her cabin, and out of the infirmary.  
I wrap a blanket around myself for the campfire and Diana does so as well. A few Apollo kids perform songs. Kacey speaks. By the time it is over, I have a slumbering friend leaning on me for support or comfort. I try gently shaking her awake but decide the best thing to do is carry her. Kacey, luckily, comes to my aid. She allows us to ride on her horse-back to the Dionysus cabin. Aelix is luckily there. He rushes up and takes Sleeping beauty into his arms. She stirs a little. Aelix figures she can shower in the morning. I help him take off her shoes. Diana must have been really tired because she sleeps through it all. We put her into bed. Aelix's sister, Jade, is first for the job. She pushes a bed next to Diana's and lies down.  
"You sure I can do it in my sleep?" Jade asks wearily. Aelix reassures her. Just before Aelix and I are about to leave, a whimpering stops us. Diana suddenly starts crying in her sleep. She begs for Ares to stop, yells out to Chris for help. I had almost forgotten about my grief of Chris.  
Aelix jumps as if he was going to react and go help but stops himself. Jade is terrified. She looks to Aelix for guidance but he just gestures to his girlfriend. Jade closes her eyes. Diana starts calming down a bit.  
"Aelix?" She asks in her sleep once calm. My heart melts; that's cute. Jade signifies that she is good to go. Aelix strokes Diana's head and whispers that he will see her in the morning. He leaves and I follow him out. While walking out, Aelix asks me what we did today. I tell him about swimming which causes a tear to come out of his eye. He apologizes, saying that he is happy that she did something 'normal'. He was worried that with all the bad things that happened that Diana wouldn't want to be bold enough to be out in public. I suggest that maybe he could come swimming tomorrow. He smiles and heads to his cabin.

The next few weeks were decent. Diana made progress; she was able to stop using the oxygen machine and wheelchair after two weeks. She went in for check ups just about everyday. We did not have any major crises, except for when she forgot to take her meds. We had to rush her into the infirmary after another attempt at harming herself. This time she was with Kacey, and luckily her magic has been disabled for her own safety. Ugene, after everything was explained to him, started hanging out with us. He is nothing like Jeff's portrayal. He is kind, soft spoken, and is as into books as Diana. He already knew about being a demigod, obviously, and has been kept drugged and locked up for the past few months. The second crisis was when he tried to talk to Diana. He apparently was not told about the horrible things had been done. She had a panic attack and ended up in the infirmary for her own safety. Sam helped her out a lot by talking to her and managed to calm her down. By the time Aelix and the rest of us got there, Diana was back to herself. She was kept in there until they determined she was good to leave. This time it will be harder for Diana to get used to the idea of her memories not being correct because while Jeff was actually the culprit behind all of the torture, he was accurately disguised as Ugene. Thankfully, over these weeks Diana has come used to the real Ugene, and has stopped having Ugene-centric nightmares while having him in the cabin. She, Martin, and Ugene have had some bonding time and have apparently gotten super close.  
Diana in these past weeks has gone to therapy with one of Mitchell’s associates. This, combined with the medication, has for the most part been effective. Diana seems to almost be getting back to her regular self. Her physical abilities have increased to the point where she is now allowed to take part in camp activities with us. We have not taken off the cuff that prevents her from using magic as a safety precaution. She is still not allowed to be alone. While we had two major crises, the process has not been smooth sailing. She had a panic attack during capture the flag when she was up against some of the people she remembered were mind controlled. Right before we started the game, she was mad that Kacey wouldn’t allow her to take off the cuff preventing her magic. Diana was able to come out of the panic attack when Aelix’s sister, who was thankfully passing by, helped her breathe and get back out of her head. There was also one time while I was on duty to watch her that she had a panic attack seemingly out of nowhere.  
We are two days before the big meeting with all of the gods now. Kacey has called us all for a meeting. We are going over what to do, how it is going to go down, and the older demigods are going to give advice about dealing with the gods. When I enter the boardroom, Diana and Joselyn are the only ones in the room. Joselyn had the morning shift, in which they spent doing the climbing wall. Diana is sitting in the Dionysus spot and is looking in good spirits. Aelix and Ammon enter, and then Sandra, Marie, Ginnifer, and Justin. Our older relatives enter next, and then Kacey, Chiron, and Dionysus. Kacey has a slideshow.  
She begins with the reason we are addressing the council: to explain what happened to Ares, and to ask for Diana to be relieved of her recent inflictions. Chiron explains that in order to show them, we might have to take Diana off of the medication for the next two days, as to display how bad it is. Kacey asks Diana if she is okay with this. Diana agrees to do it, but does not give any indication as to how she feels about it. Chiron gets Percy and Annabeth (featuring my nieces) to talk about how to speak with the Gods. Just because they have not gotten shot out of Olympus for talking back at the gods does not mean the same will be for us. We are to be polite whilst demanding. It is in our best interest not to speak ill of the gods while in their presence. We need to appeal to their emotions, to their empathy. They inform us that the group will all be there to help, so we shouldn’t feel as if we are being thrown into a situation without any backup. Then Dionysus speaks about how it will happen. We will be the first order of business. He suggests dressing up a bit, semi-formal, to have a good first impression. We will state our case and have a discussion with the gods. They will vote for decisions Zeus proposes. Diana asks what happens if we do not like any of the options given. Dionysus hesitates to answer, tripping over the right words. He eventually says that hopefully it won’t come to that. Dionysus then hands the attention over to Marie. She is bursting with excitement.  
“I have been tasked with outfitting you all for the meeting,” she says. 

The next to days are stressful. Diana had been on medication for a few weeks, and it had helped immensely once we got the dosage and type right. On medication she was not allowed to be alone except for when she had to use the bathroom changing, or showering. She was not allowed to use her magic or her powers. For the two days where she was off of medication, Kacey and the three guardians decided that two people should stay with her instead of one. We would give her a sleeping draught to hopefully help with the nightmares and so that the children of Phobos were not scarred for life. When I came to the Dionysus cabin for my shift, Diana was in her room, cradled in the corner, rocking back and forth while muttering things. Mark and Martin were on duty and, upon seeing Joselyn and I, were relieved. They didn't know what to do. Mark tried to get her to go upstairs this morning for breakfast, but Diana was being stubborn. He tried to hand her hand, to coax her out of the cabin but when he made contact, it was like some invisible force hit her. She backed away, begging for mercy, begging for him to get it over with. She had been like this for an hour. We told Mark not to worry and for the two boys to let us handle it. As soon as they left, we discussed how to get her out of the trance she is in. I stood in the stairwell and watched Joselyn's attempt. She crouches on the other side of the room. From where I stand I could see that Diana was not dressed yet.  
"Diana?" Joselyn gently says. "He is gone now. Do you know who I am?"  
It took a minute but Diana slowly lifted her head. Her eyes are red and fresh tears are on her cheeks. She looks at Joselyn warily.  
"Joselyn Hunt. Daughter of Hades." She states. "Main weapon is a whip."  
Joselyn nods.  
"Anything else about me?"  
Diana looks at her quizzically.  
"Red hair... Tall..."  
Joselyn chuckles a little.  
"Can you come with me to breakfast? You need to get changed."  
Diana starts screaming for us not to touch her, backing up against the wall. Joselyn waits patiently for her to stop, which she eventually did. Diana looks up, surprised that Joselyn is still in the spot she was before.  
"I believe you are capable of getting changed by yourself. If not, we can grab Ginnifer to magically do it." Joselyn informs her. "Now, can you join me for brunch?"  
Diana slowly stands up, walks over to her suitcase full of clothes, all while keeping an eye on us, and grabs some for the day. She looks at me expectantly. I move out of the way and she slips by to go get dressed. When she is out of earshot, Joselyn lets out a big sigh of relief. When Diana returns, her hair wet and up in a towel, she back to herself. She apologizes to us immensely, not stopping until we actually get to the dining pavilion.  
That evening, during my second shift of the day, Marie and I were supposed to make sure she does not run off or anything. After supper, Diana climbs a tree and refuses to come down, yelling at us that Ajax and Cole and Aaron were going to get her. While I called Kacey to inform her of the situation, Marie tried to get her down. Unfortunately Marie has to be closer than she is in order to do charmspeak. While Marie climbs the tree, Kacey informs me that Aelix and Ammon are on their way to help with the emergency Diana kit. Worst comes to worst, Ammon teleports up there and administers one of the drugs. Marie can't reach where Diana is so when the boys arrive, Ammon does exactly that. He teleports down with a groggy daughter of Dionysus. Marie and Aelix resign themselves to their cabins for the night as Ammon and I support a conscious but stoned Diana to her room. We decide to leave her in her clothes, neither of us wanting to get that personal with her. Once tucked in, Diana falls asleep instantly. Ammon and I have to wait for the night shift to arrive before we can leave.  
Ammon and I sit in silence, cuddling with each other on the extra bed in the room. Ammon stares at Diana for a while before talking.  
"I wonder what exactly is going on with her," he says softly.  
"What do you mean?" I ask.  
"Is it the fate of all children of Dionysus that’s making her this ill? Is it her mental illnesses? Is it because of something Ares did to her? What is the cause of the intensity? Is her magic, the gift Hecate gave to her, being suppressed to the point where it's affecting Diana?"  
A dark air overcomes my boyfriend. "Cole and Ajax didn't die for Diana to be like this."  
Ammon admits that the reason he was hostile at first was because he was grieving. He blamed Diana. But now, thanks to a grief counselor Mitchell brought in, he is doing good. He was able to talk to them, thanks to Joselyn. They made it to Elysium, thankfully. Ammon wants to help now, more than he currently is. He is praying to his father to help us.  
Felicity and Sam come to relieve us of our shift before we can get more into the deeper discussion.  
I did not have any shifts the second day, but I did hang out with Diana. Sam and Felicity had a similar problem this morning but luckily Marie and Aelix had the first shift. Marie was able to charmspeak her back to reality this time. Diana apologizes profusely again. Aelix reminds her that she can not control it, that we are subjecting her to this and she is not to blame.  
She had a few more incidents during the day, and by the fourth one we had to admit her into the infirmary. Ginnifer was given a longer shift with Marie. Charmspeak and magic are our greatest assets. I stay with them, as does Joselyn, Sandra, and Aelix. Diana is put into her own room, not allowed to leave. I grab a board game for us to play. During the game, there are moments when she starts to see things and is unresponsive. Marie and Ginnifer do not interrupt these episodes unless Diana is harming herself or others, or is highly distressed. We manage to complete the game, Sandra winning. When it is time for supper, Sam enters with a tray of food for Diana, Thomas following with a second tray of food. He asks who will be staying; Marie volunteers.  
After supper, a few of us go to the arena to spar. I stay there with Sandra, Joselyn, and Ginnifer until it is curfew. We check in with Marie and Diana.  
Apparently Thomas is now on the list of Apollo kids willing to work with Diana. Later, Marie fills me in on the details. Diana had a huge episode when Thomas went to check her blood pressure, so he panicked and ended up sedating her. Marie furiously debriefed him on what we had been doing.  
Now, Diana is awake. She is mad at Thomas for sedating her but understands that he is new. He apologizes and leaves to go to bed. Sam comes in and suggests Diana stay in the infirmary until the meeting tomorrow given the amount of incidences we have had over the past few days. Ginnifer stays with Sam, as does Aelix. When we leave, Sam is feeding a sleeping draught to Diana as she cuddles up to Aelix on the medical bed, with Ginnifer on a second medical bed that was brought in.

That morning, we all prepared for the huge event to come. Marie passed out all of our attire. We were going with a more business style look. As a child of Poseidon, I am obviously dressed in a pencil dress with a blue ombre. Diana has a fancy purple blouse and a black pencil skirt. Dionysus left early to go see one of the gods to try and sway them. Our group meets at the infirmary before heading to the cars; Sandra, Marie, Joselyn, Aelix, Ginnifer, Martin, Mark, Kacey, and Justin. Percy and crew is meeting us there. Mark's car has Martin, Joselyn, Justin, and myself. Kacey's car has Diana, Marie, Ginnifer, and Sandra. Diana apparently did not have any problems this morning which is good. She is herself right now.   
We pile into our respective cars. Mark starts the engine, takes a deep breath, and we start on our way.


	13. Oh Gods

Diana’s POV  
Everyone in my car is here because of their ability to defeat you, Ajax says as I sit in the back between Marie and Ginnifer.  
No, I tell them, it's because they can help when you attack. And besides, if they could defeat me, why put the bracelet on me? The one that stops my powers/magic.  
Gretchen Envis, the woman I thought was my mother, appears to be sitting on the ground at Marie's feet. She reminds me that I am broken. That I don't deserve my friends. She lectures me about my behavior over the past month, telling me the medications I have been taking make me weak. That I am a burden. I feel a headache coming on from the voices joining in, yelling and  
"Diana?" I hear Marie say, a knife slicing through my thoughts. I realize that I am doubled over and have a few tears streaming down my face. She places a comforting hand on my back. "Everything alright?"  
I nod but don't budge.  
"Did you want to sleep until we get to the building?" Ginnifer asks. I shake my head.  
"Did you need a distraction?" Marie asks. I nod.  
Sandra pops a CD into the radio. It is a classical mix with all of the greats. Vivaldi, Hadyn, Beethoven. We play a game where we make up a story for the music. It works for the most part; Ajax, Cole and Gretchen join in to play, offering their own suggestions. They are creative when it comes to plots in which I die at the end. We do this until Kacey informs us we have arrived.  
When they told me we were going to olympus, I had no clue what to expect. All I knew about olympus was that it was supposedly atop of a mountain in Greece. So when I got dressed, managing to not let the others know how bad the voices were, I thought we were driving to the airport. Even though air travel is dangerous for demigods I thought we would go to an airport. Not the empire state building. We get out of the cars, our group looking professional, like a group of business people. Kacey and Mark say they will meet us inside. Ginnifer slings her arm around my shoulder.  
"Ready?" She asks.  
We stride up to the counter, where a familiar face is chatting up the receptionist.  
".... And there they are now! My wonderful team of business associates!" Percy exclaims. He gestures to the elevator. "Follow me!"  
We all enter an elevator, just our group inside it.  
As we go up the elevator, the voices and everything intensify. My internal monologue blends with the voices. I collapse to the ground screaming. I feel people's hands on me; arms and then legs.  
Shaking.  
Discussion.  
Swearing.  
DING.  
Movement.  
Loud voices outside sound alarmed. More and more voices. So many outside and inside and all around.  
Warmth. The warmth moves through my body, like a wave washing away the voices and everything until I am back to normal. Someone helps me sit up as I blink my eyes. There's a man in front of me. His blonde hair is down to about his shoulders. He is shirtless and has a golden toga on. There’s a bow around his torso and shoulder and a quiver. He smiles at me.  
"Welcome back Diana." He says "Sorry about that, I should have came down to prevent all of that from happening."  
I stare at him blankly. He introduces himself as Apollo. Aelix helps me to stand up, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Apollo returns to an empty seat.  
There are twelve thrones in a semicircle facing a door we just came through. There are a few more sitting kind of like a jury on the right end. I notice that there is one chair empty. The gods all look one sitting at the center of the semicircle.  
"Welcome. Gods, goddesses, and demigods. We have with us today a group of demigods who are seeking aid of some sort," he looks at us. "You shall present the problem. Spare no details. We will discuss and then I will make the decision to either help or let you deal with it on your own."  
His eyes scan the group, landing on me.  
"I assume you are the one requesting aid?"  
Everyone stares at me. I feel the pressure and can't get my voice to work so I nod. Zeus gestures for me to step forward. I do so.  
"You are Diana Summers. Daughter of Dionysus?" He asks. I nod again.  
"I am here because I-" I look back at my friends and find encouraging looks. I turn back around, mustering up all of the courage I can. "-I am mentally ill. If my circumstances were normal, I would be seeing a psychologist and you all would not have to deliberate this, but it was caused due to one of your own."  
I take a deep breath, my eyes going to the empty throne. Ares' throne.  
"When I was young, Ares would come into my home. He would strap me down and force ichor into my blood. He performed cruel experiments on me and I was terrified every day. When I came to camp, he kidnapped me after the first month or two of being there. He took me away from my friends, my father, and kept me prisoner on the other side of the country. He tortured me using my brother, my family, and many medical procedures. My friends came and rescued me, or so they thought. Ares was one step ahead. He put my consciousness in Jeffrey Nealson's body and created Mist so strong that everyone though Jeff was me. When the real me slept or was unconscious, Jeff-me was awake and had amnesia. When that version was asleep, the real me was awake and alone in a barn. Tied up. Tortured. Ares abandoned it when Jeff was revealed. He-"  
I break off to let out a few sobs. I am surprised I managed this long without crying. A person is next to me and they wrap an arm around me to comfort me. Marie whispers words of encouragement.  
"Ares made me want to die so that my body would host Kronos. He wanted to take over the word. He stabbed me with a God blade."  
A few gods gasp.  
"If it wasn't for Hades also in my head, and the fact Kronos did not want me to host him, I would not be here. Ares tampered with the Dionysus curse. He made me see my friends as torturers. He made me feel worthless. After defeating him, his torture lingers. I am asking for the gods to heal me."  
Zeus looks around.  
"Any questions for Diana?" He asks.  
"Where is Ares now?" Athena asks me. Hades answers before I can.  
"I sent his ass to Tartarus. He killed a lot of good people before their time to go. Cole, son of Hephaestus-"  
The god I believe to be Hephaestus looks heartbroken.  
"-and Ajax, son of Nike-"  
One of the jury-seating members gasps and there are tears brimming in their eyes.  
"-while being hosted by the lovely daughter of Dionysus"  
A goddess from the jury-like section stands up and approaches me. I recognize her from a few months ago. Her dress shimmers as she walks over to me. It's Hecate. She lifts my arm up, the one with the cuff which prevents me from using my magic. She asks me if I have harmed myself with magic, or if magic has made the illnesses worse. I tell her that they have not made them worse, per se, but in order to keep everyone including myself safe, my powers are being blocked. That the decision was due to an incident where I was having hallucinations, which my magic turns into reality. I did not give her any more detail than that, not wanting to get into it. Hecate snaps her fingers and the cuff turns purple and then falls off. She picks it up. Hecate took away my magic. She doesn’t think I am worthy. The goddess says that the magic has done what it was meant to, defeat Ares, and that I will be able to get by without it. I am too shocked and heartbroken to say anything. The one thing that made me feel good about myself has been taken away. I thought that because I still had the magic that I could be trusted with it. It did not matter that I am psychologically damaged, that I screwed up, I was still worthy. While she saunters back to her seat, I realize that I could actually use my magic while the cuff was on. As I start to feel weaker, I realize that I was using my magic to fuel me, to heal me myself. The reason the nectar paired with the meds worked was that I had magic to help me. My body starts to shake a little. I feel a hand on my shoulder.  
“Diana, are you okay?” Kacey whispers.  
“She took my magic… I was able to use it slightly, to help me heal some… Now that it’s gone…”  
Kacey swears. She backs up to join the rest of the group.  
“Any more questions before I make my decision?” Zeus asks boredly. “Anything any of my kind want to add?”  
I feel someone slip a bottle into my hand. Looking down, Sandra has slipped me a sports drink in hopes that it might help. I take a few gulps.  
"So are we just going to take her word?" One god says from the jury section. She stands up. She has short curly hair and a red leather jacket on, black leather pants. She questions why we are not hearing Ares' side. Zeus, to my dismay, orders Hades to bring Ares out of Tartarus so he may state his point. I am too shocked to move. A black mist swirls around the empty seat, an even darker force being summoned by it. Hades does not look pleased and even offers an apology, mouthing the word 'sorry'.  
Ares smugly looks around the room, the look of terror leaving him shortly after appearing. His eyes settle on me, a stare that I swear is worse than Medusa's and just as paralyzing. Ares thanks Hades for summoning him and asks what we are doing. Zeus explains that I have told them about the crimes done, to me and to others, by him and how he wanted to take over the world. His eyes gleam maliciously at me; I find my inner strength and fight against the urge to cower back to my friends. Ares asks who they would believe; their own kin or a pathetic, broken half breed. Hades slamming his fist on his armrest sends a shockwave through the room. It gets slightly darker.  
"You want to talk about believing your own kin? I was the god that made it possible to send your ass to Tartarus! I was inside her head! I witnessed the horrors you did to her and the horrors she watched you do to others!"  
"You can't prove a thing! Show me the evidence that her being worthless is my doing!"  
Hypnos and Hecate stand up, drawing our attention.  
"We believe we can extract the memories from her and show them to the council," Hecate says. She turns to me. "That is, if you consent to it. Luckily because I am a god, you won't have to relive it like you did when Aelix and your friends looked into your memories. It will be as simple as falling asleep. The only thing you need to do is open up your mind to us."  
I give Ares a defiant look and am surprised to see worry on his face. I keep eye contact when saying that I would be glad to. Hypnos walks up to me. He asks for two people to come forward; Aelix and Marie do. Hypnos taps my forehead and suddenly I feel like I am falling. My mind going off of a cliff. Arms catch me physically and cradle me. I know it's Aelix and feel safe. I allow myself to let go of the physical reality.

When I wake up, I do not remember re-living any memories. I don't know how much time has passed. However the horrified looks on everyone's faces indicate that all of my friends and the gods have witnessed my past. You could hear a pin drop in the room. I sit up from laying on the floor, my head resting on Aelix's lap. He offers me a smile when he sees I am awake and whispers that I did a good job. He informs me that there were no problems with the spell or anything. They were waiting for me to wake up before discussing anything further. He helps me stand up, Marie helping with physical support. I de-wrinkle my outfit and try to hide how awkward I feel. Everyone looks at me; some gods with sympathy, some with shock, and then there is Zeus. He looks unmoved by the whole ordeal. I announces that his decision has been made. He turns to look at Ares.  
“My son,” he says, his voice ethereal and reverberating, “You have disappointed me. You have insulted me by trying to take over my kingdom. You have caused pain and destruction to many of our offspring. For this, for the threat you pose to Olympus and the world, you are banished to Tartarus as Hades and the demigod had done.”  
A black hole opens up and swallows Ares before he can say anything. The council is quiet for a moment.  
“Now, about healing the demigod-”  
“Diana,” my father says, barely holding it together. “Her name is Diana and she is a person. The one who, in this room, was mostly affected by that dick who I regret to call my brother.”  
“About healing Diana,” Zeus continues with a hint of annoyance. “Each of you will state your opinion. Demigods remain silent. I will come to a conclusion.”  
There are a few sides that the gods all take.  
Hypnos speaks first, saying that he thinks that the nightmares alone are too much for me, and that I should be healed completely. Aphrodite hops onto what Hypnos was saying, except taking the route of informing Apollo that there could be something in it for him. Hera says he should heal me, although I am getting the vibe that she just wants to get us demigods out of the room and this to be over. My father, of course wants me to heal fully. Phobos agrees that I should be healed, but probably just because I’m dating his son.  
Janus shoots a glare at me and says that it is a human problem, that gods have no place in it.  
The gods who believe I should deal with it on my own are. Nike, Nemesis, and Tyche agree that I need to do it on my own. Demeter takes a more positive message, saying that she believes that I can break through myself.  
Hecate is impartial. Hephaestus doesn’t give a clear answer, saying that we should do what’s best for me.  
Athena speaks up, rationalizing that the compromising solution would be to clean up what has been imposed by Ares. To take away the spell that makes everything worse, and leave me to deal with the, what she calls, normal amount. Hades, Poseidon, Artemis, Hermes, and Hestia agree with this point.  
Apollo informs us that he has to do what Zeus tells him, but personally he does want to heal me. Either partially or fully, he does not care.  
Zeus eyes me analytically.  
“The girl shall deal with it on her own,” Zeus announces nonchalantly. “We thank you for the service you have done.”  
I am too shocked to move at first, the room suddenly feeling small. The walls closing in. They are not going to help at all. I’m going to be a burden to my friends. Sure, medication helps, but not always. There might be a day that it stops working. What if I miss a day? What about the negative side effects? Did I not have any due to the magic, which has now been taken from me?  
Kacey is suddenly at my side. She asks if it would be okay for them to stop blocking the effects from my mind, to possible showcase how bad it is. I swallow my pride and tell her that if she thinks it will help, we should do it. Zeus demands to know what we are discussing and Kacey calls Apollo down. She explains to Apollo what she wants. Apollo apologizes to me before placing his hand on my head.  
I can feel my brain change. Suddenly there is a depletion of something that I can't quite name. My head starts to hurt. Aelix tried to make eye contact with me and he asks if I am okay. He reaches out to me and an image from my fake memories pops up. His hand coming to strike me. I don't realize I'm screaming until Marie orders me to stop. I open my eyes. Ajax and Cole are kneeling down too. They ask if I missed them, what pathetic begging I have been doing. I ask if anyone else sees Ajax and Cole. The urges start to come back, the temptations and the thoughts. The thoughts of how I am a horrible friend start bubbling. More memories start bubbling up. I bolt up and away from the group, stumbling towards the council. My friends try approaching me but they want to hurt me. I try to conjure vines, anything to put between me and them. I hear some yelling. Ajax and Cole tell me they are plotting my death and that I should do their job for them. I conjure a glass bottle of alcohol, smash it on the ground, pick up a shard. I feel hands grab my wrists, restraining me. I scream. And then it's all gone. I'm back. Apollo removed his hand from my face, his face full with worry, and the person holding my wrists brings me to the ground when I relax in their grip.  
"Diana, are you good?" Joselyn asks. I feel back to myself and swear. She gets off of me, helps me up.  
"So that's the worst?" Zeus asks emotionlessly. I am too embarrassed to answer so I just nod. Joselyn wraps me in a hug.  
"I've seen worse. Demigods, you are dismissed."  
"Diana could have been like Luke! She deserves more than a freaking THANK YOU! Look at her!" Percy yells furiously at Zeus, surprising most of the people in the room. He told us not to talk back at the gods, or to be rude to them, and now he is outrightly yelling at the big boss. The older demigods look shocked at first but soon join him  
"We could have had a war on our hands!" The one I believe is named Clarisse says. She is a daughter of Ares. Apparently she heard what her father was doing and came back to Camp just to see the outcome of this meeting, offering to help in any way she can.  
"The least you could do is cleanse her of the... Stuff" Percy continues.  
He looks back at me, and I am shaking from fear despite Aelix's arm around my shoulder.  
Zeus asks what 'stuff' Percy is referring to. Percy looks at my friends for answers.  
"PTSD," Eva pipes up.  
"Schizophrenia," Ammon pipes up.  
"Anxiety," Marie shoots.  
"Depression," Sandra chimes.  
"Self Harm," Joselyn offers.  
"Nightmares of what has happened to her," Aelix says, pointing at the bags under his eyes. "She had trust issues, and still kind of does. Ares put false memories to make her friends seem like the enemy."  
Hecate takes this moment to pipe up. She informs us that while Ares was here, she realized something. Apart from the torture and everything, he did one last thing to me. She hates that she didn’t see it before. Apparently, the reason I have the intense visions and extreme negative affect is due to a spell Ares placed on me before Kronos and Hades even possessed me. I do not actually have schizophrenia; it’s just magic, making the nightmares and making the visions more persuasive and invasive. It is meant to mess with my mind and make me want to die. It is similar to the cyanide teeth soldiers had back in the world war, except I do not activate it or choose it. Hecate awkwardly sits back down in her chair.  
"Need we go on?" Joselyn sassily says, an eyebrow raised, trying not to tremble. She looks very impatient with her arms crossed, her hips cocked.  
"It's affected us all," Aelix says. "Even though she is the one going through it, it affects us all. Not to mention her father, Dionysus! You know your son? When you think about it, Diana is technically your Granddaughter. It's bad that you have the chance to rid your GRANDDAUGHTER from her suffering, and you won't."  
Zeus turns a deep red that I didn't know that a god would be capable of. He gruffly looks around at the other gods. They are all staring at him like if he gives the wrong answer, they will rise up and pummel him. Hades looks especially pissed.  
"I do not agree with us just snapping our fingers and making all of it go away. That's not how humans deal with mental illness. I will get Hecate to take off the spell that intensifies everything and makes you hallucinate but only because Ares purposefully did that. Apollo will also be sent to do a proper psychological test so that camp can come up with the correct treatment plan. " he glumly says. "You Demigods are excused; Apollo and Dionysus will arrive at Camp this afternoon."  
My friends begin to escort me out to the elevator. Aelix and Marie are on either side of me in case I fall over. The whole ordeal has made me tired. It's made everyone tired. Why am I the only one receiving help from the gods? Just before we reach the elevator, I turn around.  
"Wait!" I weakly exclaim, pushing Aelix away. I collapse to the ground; Aelix reacts right away and comes to help me up. Zeus looks at me as if to say 'what now'?  
"Yes?"  
"Help my friends too," I breathe.  
A bunch of my friends look around at each other in shock. Zeus chuckles.  
"You can't be serious!"  
"Well you know there is the option of allowing Kronos to possess me. You know with my extra Dionysus blood and ability to actually host a god..." I say, hoping that they do not realize that I would need my magic back to actually host Kronos, and hope they do not know that Kronos does not want to host anyone.  
"ZEUS STOP BEING AN ASS AND GIVE HER WHAT SHE WANTS!" Hades yells as if the tension is too much for him. But I catch him winking at me; he knows I would not be able to host Kronos. Joselyn and Nico smile at their father. The other gods and goddesses start yelling, all of them demanding him to take the offer. Zeus yells for silence. He looks back at me with a look of displeasure.  
"Apollo shall stay there until everyone who wants help receives it, but that is it. No more." he defeated declares.  
I accept it and we all leave Olympus.

Eva’s POV- Six months later  
Diana has come a long way in the past six months. When we got back to camp, she went with Apollo and Hecate into a private room in the infirmary and when they all emerged, Diana LOOKED better. There was a healthier aura about her that I couldn’t tangibly describe. We asked her impatiently how it went. She told us that the spell is off of her thanks to Hecate. Apollo and Hecate combined their powers and removed to Dionysus children’s fates, and they believe it will work. When Martin turns 16, we will know for sure. Ugene apparently was too unconscious or tied up to discover what his Fate would be. Apollo coached Diana and he decided to return on a weekly basis to help her. He healed physical wounds as well, all except for the Godblade wound.  
We kept Diana on watch for the past few months, keeping track with how she feels. At the end of the six months she seemed normal, happy even. She is open to talking about her struggles in the past. She does not go into panic attacks or anxiety attacks when talking about it anymore, or reliving the memories, for the most part. She trusts us because Hecate took out the fake memories permanently; Diana is aware of what happened in them, but she does not actually remember them, other than her memory of witnessing them with Aelix when they at mind-meld. The rest of us have gotten counselling from Apollo and other psychologists at camp.  
One month ago, we had a trial run for Diana to be alone in her cabin. It went well, for the most part. She is still having nightmares that wake her up in the night, leaving her breathless and scared. They are not as bad as before though. She gets into depressive ruts too, but with therapy and the medication-nectar mix, she has grown into a functioning person whom we do not have to constantly monitor. She has slept by herself in the cabin ever since.  
Two weeks ago, Diana was allowed to train with us again.  
Even though she has her bad days, there are less of them now and they are not as intense.  
A few of us stayed in therapy for a while. We witnessed some of the horrors Diana went through. We have stuff we need to get over too.  
Diana and I have bonded in the past few months, more so than before. We both want to go to school in the fall, and so we have been studying together. Aelix has joined as well. One thing we would do together is just be in each other's company while doing completely different activities. She got to know me a bit better. I talked about my mom. About my life before camp. She would read books or write, I would be doing artwork. Diana sometimes would try and copy what I have done. Despite the obviousness that someone with little art skill did them, I hung a few on my wall in my cabin. One day as a fun little activity, I got her to pose for me. She hung that one on her wall.  
Today Diana is going swimming with me. She does not like wearing bikinis due to the high exposure of her body, but she says she needs to get over the discomfort with her body somehow. I asked Aelix to join us at supper last night, thinking Diana would be comfortable with him there and he can be another voice of encouragement. When Diana finds out about this while getting ready in my cabin, she starts panicking. I get her to a calmer state so she can explain. She enters the bathroom to put the swimwear on.  
"I know it's been, like, months since the whole Ares ordeal and I have been getting better. Aelix refused to do any sort of... Uh... Contact that a couple would do while I was really sick. I flung myself at him before the meeting with the gods and he established that he would not try any sort of contact until I am better. Now that I have improved, we haven't exactly had the conversation yet of what we are comfortable doing. I trust him, it's just... He's hasn't exactly seen my body."  
I reassure her that her feelings are valid and Aelix will not judge her. She swears. She tells me that the Godblade scar is visible in the bathing suit she has on. The scar itself has closed over but it is deep. Diana exits, her arms wrapped around herself. I offer that maybe she wears a swim shirt and then takes it off in the water. Diana like that idea.  
Aelix is already a fish when we get to the water. He rushes up, scoops Diana up, runs back into the water, Diana's laughter and happy screams heard as he shows no mercy when submerging her into the water. I wade my way in, getting used to it easier than my friend. Aelix looks at Diana lovingly. He then notices the swim shirt.  
"I thought you were going to try wearing just a bikini?" He inquires. Diana takes a deep breath and takes it off. When Aelix's loving gaze does not budge, Diana relaxes. She suddenly splashes Aelix. He laughs in surprise, saying "Oh... It’s on!".  
We swim until we prune. Diana puts her shirt back on before leaving the water. Aelix asks her what she was doing later and Diana shrugs. She hasn't been on an exact schedule, since Kacey has told her she can do whatever so wants training-wise. Aelix asks if he can steal her for supper and Diana agrees. Aelix departs, to apparently shower but I believe that he will be doing something afterwards in which he doesn't want Diana to know. I ask her what she wants to do; she replies that, after showering, she would love to try sparring with a weapon.  
Diana meets up with me at the arena. Joselyn and Sandra are already there and are helping her put armor on. I join, armor myself, and then we go into the weapons shed.  
Diana explains that she has no clue what weapon she wants to use. She wants something personal, where she is up close to the other person. She definitely does not want daggers. She hopes it to be light in weight. We grab a few different ones, all of us sparring with her so she can determine which suits her best. She settles on a spear that magically contracts to about the size of water bottle. The spear is one of the shorter ones, given Diana is one of our shorter campers. She manages to beat me in sparring as often as I beat her, after getting used to the weapon. We spar for a while, taking water breaks.  
I walk Diana back to her cabin afterwards, mostly because I have to pass hers to get to mine. But when we get to the door, I enter the cabin with her. She runs down to her room; I hear her squeal and rush down the stairs. My mind flashes to months ago, before the meeting with the gods, when we had to physically stop her from dying. She’s been doing great lately. I sigh in relief when I reach the bottom of the stairs to find her well. She is standing near her bed. I ask her what’s up, and she turns around to reveal a picnic basket on her bed. There’s a note in her hands.  
“Hey Diana. Come to where we first met. The boardroom” She reads. Diana rushes me out of the cabin so that she can get freshened up and changed.  
I decide to go to dinner after freshening up myself. I throw on normal clothes, since I am not going on any romantic dates.  
When I get to the dining pavilion, Joselyn, Sandra, Marie, Justin, Ginnifer, Martin, Mark, and Ugene are sitting at the table talking with Kacey. Joselyn gestures for me to quickly come over. Kacey greets me and says she can finally tell the group something. I ask what’s going on. Apparently everyone was wondering about why Diana was not at supper and went to Kacey. She said she couldn’t reveal why Diana was there until I was there too.  
“Aelix has a picnic set up in the boardroom. He was going to go outside, but wanted to make it meaningful. They are celebrating Diana first coming to camp by having dinner in the room they met.”  
This elicits ‘aw’s from everyone. Marie jokingly asks if Kacey knows if they are trusted to be alone together. Kacey chuckles, not answering the question. She leaves the table to go get food and the rest of us follow suit.

Diana’s POV  
I know Aelix doesn’t care what I wear, but I decide to dress up a little for this date. Aelix and I have spent time alone together, but none of it has really constituted as an outright ‘date’. I slip into a navy blue shirt-skirt combo that we bought a month or two ago, when we went shopping for my new wardrobe. I did not fit into most of my old clothes due to being starved for a few months. It is a short-sleeved V-neck that has a skirt down to just below my knees. I put on sneakers because they are comfy. I blow-dry my hair and put pins in it to keep it out of my face. Before I leave, I grab the picnic basket. It says not to look inside so I don’t.  
The chairs for the different cabin leaders are nowhere to be seen except for the Dionysus chair and the Phobos chair. He is, of course, sitting in the Phobos chair. They are pushed to the end of normal conference table. There is music playing in the background. The lights are normal but he has fake candles on the table. Aelix himself is dressed in khakis and a button up shirt. He smiles when I enter. I sit down across from him, Aelix getting up to plant a peck on my cheek before we sit down. I open up the basket, bringing out little containers with sandwich supplies. We build our own sandwiches and start to eat. He looks pleased when I pile veggies and feta cheese on my sandwich. We talk about camp things while we eat; I tell him how like my new spear. He tells me about having to rescue Ammon from a climbing wall accident. We finish our sandwiches and clean up. Aelix has been giving of a nervous energy the whole time and when we finish he opens up about why. He scoots his chair close, grabs my hand, and looks down at our entwined fingers. He informs me that Apollo has deemed me stable, given that I continue taking the medication and seeing the God for counselling. This isn’t news to me, since I am the patient and they inform me of things such as this. I tell him that I already know this; Aelix says that my stability now means something different. He leans in so that our foreheads touch, his breath hot on my face.  
“Does this mean that we can partake in more… physically intimate activities?” I whisper.  
“Only if you are comfortable with it,” Aelix replies. I pull him in for a kiss. A deep one. Passion soon turns to a hunger. He somehow is both hungry and soft. He starts kissing down my neck.  
“You spoil me,” I tell him. He reaches my collarbone, his hands lightly sliding over my back. I pull him to sit up, look him in the eyes, and ask him to take off his shirt. He slowly unbuttons it, until I get impatient and pull it open. He shrugs it off and we rejoin lips. His fingertips dance across my back, sending chills all over. I part away from him and start kissing down his neck. He slides a hand down to my butt, pulling me in close, and I wrap my arms around him. He stands up, lifting me up with him, moves away from the chairs, places me down gently on the floor. He straddles my waist. I sit up and continue kissing him. I guide his hands to slide up the front of my shirt and fondle. He moans “Oh gods” into my mouth. I leave his hands to do the work and take my shirt off. I pull him with me as I lay down again. Aelix adds tongue and so do I, challenging him. I push him away and a flash of concern rushes over him face.  
"Is this okay?" He asks. I chuckle a little and tell him I want to be on top. He grins, a blush entering his face. He gets off of me and lays down; I move to straddle him. I bring his hands back to my chest and he asks if I want him to continue his previous action. I tell him I do. As he does that, I grind on him a little, satisfied when he groans. His hands fall to his sides, unable to focus on anything else. I ask him if I can take off his pants and he groans out a yes. I continue to grind on him but return to kissing again.  
I feel nervous about all of this but at the same time excited. I have never done this much intimate activity before. I don't know how much more of it I want to do. I know that I am comfortable with where we are now. I noticed earlier that Aelix is wearing the cuff that cancels out a demigod's powers; he probably doesn't want to accidentally take away my fear of any particular activity since that wouldn't be proper consent. Aelix asks if he can take my skirt off in between kisses. I hesitate. He waits for my answer. Despite wearing a skirt, I didn’t want him to see my thighs. While in the last few months I have made significant progress with overcoming a lot of issues and illness, it has not been a linear journey. There are freshly made scars on my inner thighs from a few days ago. I don’t want him to get worried, especially not now.  
Before I can answer, however, a knock comes from the door. Aelix swears under his breath.  
"Aelix? Diana?" Marie calls. "Are you guys coming to capture the flag?"  
We scramble the get our clothes on. We take long enough that Marie knocks again and asks if we are okay. I call to her and say we will be joining them in five minutes. There is a pause and then she asks if we are decent. I look over at Aelix, who has his pants on but hasn't gotten to his shirt yet. I open the door slightly to reveal that I am fully clothed and block the entrance. Marie is decked out in armor. She looks me up and down, mischievously smiling a little. She asks if the date went well. I feel my face get hot.  
"Yep," I say awkwardly. I feel the door open more and realize Aelix is now behind me.  
"Ready?" He asks. Marie tries not to smile, biting her lip and looking at the ground. Aelix asks what that was for.  
"Why was your shirt off, Aelix?" Marie asks, trying not to laugh. We both look down worriedly at his shirt; the buttons are slightly off. Marie starts down the hallway, calling for us to go to meet her at the arena.


	14. Finally Finale

Diana’s POV

After capture the flag, we had our usual campfire. I sat in a group with all of my friends and my brothers. We all were talking about the different things that happened during the game; Ginnifer was congratulated on actually capturing the flag without using any magic at all. Ginnifer told us how Sandra played a sleeping hymn at the people guarding the flag and how they all passed out. Aelix, who was a victim of this, laid on me with his head resting on my shoulder, and hadn't woken up yet. Eva was awake now, however we could tell she was fighting off slumber. Ammon and Joselyn apparently had quite the duel. Both had to be taken to the infirmary afterwards and were teasing each other about who actually won. Joselyn figured since she had less wounds she won; Ammon said since he was the one to actually drag her to the infirmary, he won. Ginnifer speculated that since both of them had to go to the infirmary they both lost. Joselyn retorted that she was in the care of a cute daughter of Apollo who expressed interest and therfore she was the winner. Ugene and I had been included in the capture the flag game, which was great. No one went easy on me. They treated me like an equal. Marie sparred with me for most of the game before Ugene finally learned how to conjure vines and trapped Marie in a cocoon of them. I returned after and helped her out of them.  
As I gaze upon my friends in the dim light of the campfire I come to realize something.  
I grew up in an abusive household. The woman I thought was my mother treated me like I was a monster. She verbally berated me, allowed Ares to perform horrible experiments on me, and had an alcohol problem. I was kicked out of schools for monster attacks and mental breakdowns in which I harmed others. I was living a lie; I didn't know I was a demigod and that was the reason for all of the shit happening. There were a few boyfriends of my "mother's" that were decent but went running for the hills after a few months, sometimes weeks.  
After I found a school where I could fit in, I was attacked and thrown into the ocean to die. I had my world flipped upside down.  
My father was kidnapped shortly after reuniting with me. My brothers tortured me and I felt discombobulated and out of place. I was the anchor of a an army. I almost died; my brother who needed serious help died by suicide. I was kidnapped by a man I trusted and brought across the country to a new series of tortures. I had to readjust to 'normal' life. My friends came to rescue me but it wasn't me.  
I woke up in the torture place, knowing that my friends thought I was with them and knowing they wouldn't come for me. I couldn't save myself. I was tortured beyond my limits and I broke. I wanted to die. I didn't care the consequence, I just wanted the pain to stop.  
I rescued myself. I saved myself and my friends. My friends saved me. They were gentle and caring and better than I deserve. They helped me through thick and thin. I was still broken though, and sick. They helped me get professional help, giving support and comfort. My friends understood that recovery is not linear. They knew that I would have downfalls and were there every step of the way. They had their own problems and issues and we all helped each other through it.  
Now? As I look at my friends, seeing their happy faces laughing and teasing and joking, I come to realize that as long as we have each other for support we can overcome anything.  
And I, for the first time I can remember, am finally...  
Happy.

The End

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this 6-year piece of work. I will miss writing these characters. I hope that you all enjoyed it.


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